Married Only By Contract

AVA'S POV

I stared at my reflection in the mirror and was finally satisfied. After what felt like hours of frantic searching, I had finally found a dress that would perfectly complement the earrings.

Yes, those earrings – the ones I discovered hidden in Jason's pocket this morning.

A pair of delicate and luxurious pearl earrings adorned with diamonds

It was created by my favorite designer, Kokichi Mikimoto, one of only five such earrings in the world.

Jason is so thoughtful that he would secretly buy the jewelry I like and give it to me as a surprise on our wedding anniversary.

Yes, I was sure he would give this gift to me tonight.

I kept checking my dress and makeup in the mirror, and couldn't help imagining how stunning I would look in those earrings.

My hands smoothed down the fabric of the dress, which clung to my body in a way it hadn't just a few weeks ago.

I turned to the side, my eyes drawn to the slight, but unmistakable curve of my abdomen. A secret I had yet to share with anyone, least of all Jason.

Finally, after three years of marriage, Jason and I were going to be parents.

This was the moment I had been waiting for, the news that would make tonight's anniversary dinner with Jason even more special.

I placed my hands on my lower abdomen and the smile on my face grew even wider.

Jason and I have been together since college. I feel very lucky to be married to such a wonderful man.

Although Jason is not great at expressing himself and rarely shows his emotions, I still think our marriage is happy.

I went to get my phone, intending to ask Jason if he could come home early tonight.

But a striking piece of news forced me to click on it.

In the video, under the countless camera flashes, the elegant man in a neatly tailored black coat was very familiar to me, that was my husband.

And next to him was a charming lady, whom I had never seen before.

"The CEO of Campbell Group appeared at the airport, with his secret GIRLFRIEND."

Each word in that headline felt like a sharp blade, cutting through my confidence.

I held my cold hands together, trying to steady my breathing and make sense of what I had seen.

I couldn't see the face of the woman in the video from the camera's angle. Therefore, I felt that their relationship might not be what the press suggested.

After all, I knew the man I had married. We had built three years of memories, and trust was supposed to be our foundation.

Maybe she was just a relative, someone close but not what they claimed.

A soft click from the front door pulled me from my thoughts, and I rushed over.

Jason was wearing a brown trenchcoat looking even more handsome than in the video.

“Hey babe, welcome back.” I helped him take off his coat and took his bag.

“How was your day?” I asked.

“Hectic as usual but went smoothly. Why are you all dressed up? Are you going out this late?”

“Huh! You don't remember?” I couldn't hide the disappointment in my voice.

He looked at me with a puzzled expression. “Remember what?”

“What day it is, babe,” I pouted.

I led him to the dining table hoping he was just pretending not to remember but he still had that puzzled expression when he saw the table setting.

My heart sank.

“Stop joking dear. It's our anniversary. I know you just want to surprise me.”

I started to feel ridiculous. It was so obvious that he didn't even remember our anniversary, but I still wanted to give him another chance, or maybe give myself another chance.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck apologetically.

“I'm sorry Ava I have been preoccupied lately with work, it slipped my mind that today was our anniversary but I promise to make it up to you.”

“What do you want? Anything at all just mention it and I will get it for you in the blink of an eye.”

I stared at him intently, “Come on, I saw the pair of earrings this morning. Why don't you take it out and put it on me.”

Jason tilted his head quizzically. “Which earrings?”

I looked at his perfectly handsome face under the light and suddenly felt that I had never really gotten to know him.

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted everything. He strode towards the door and I followed behind him curious to know who was visiting this late at night.

As he opened the door a young lady hugged him and said with the sweetest voice, “Why haven't you gotten ready? I'm starving.”

I recognized that voice. It was the same as the lady in the news.

Confusion and disbelief swirled within me as I stared at Jason and stared back at this stranger holding his arm intimately.

I glared at the lady intensely and my eyes were fixed on the sparkling diamond in her earlobe.

The earrings she wore bore a striking resemblance to the one I found in Jason's closet which I thought were my anniversary gift.

My heart skipped a beat.

The lady turned to me with a saccharine smile. “Oh, you must be his wife! Nice to meet you. I'm Laura Martinez. He always talks about you.”

“I just got divorced today, so I asked Jason to have dinner with me to celebrate. I'll borrow him tonight, thank you!”

Hearing the woman's words I looked at Jason expecting an explanation instead I noticed he was putting his coat back on.

“Jason…” I stared at him in disbelief.

Jason glanced at me, an uncomfortable look crossing his face.

“Ava, I'm sorry. Maybe we can celebrate another time. I promise I'll be back soon.”

“But it's our anniversary,” I protested weakly, feeling lost and betrayed.

“I even made your fav….”

Before I could finish my statement, the door was slammed in my face.

He left with Laura leaving me standing by the doorway with a shattered heart.

I tried to understand and piece together what had just happened, it still felt like a dream to me.

Who was Laura, and why was she wearing those earrings? Did Jason give them to her? How could he go out with another woman on our anniversary day?

This was the first time Jason had ever forgotten our anniversary, so don't blame me for overthinking.

I took the pregnancy test results out of my pocket. Tears threatened to spill over but I blinked them back.

What went wrong with my marriage?

I can't risk Jason knowing about my baby until I figure this out, so I stuffed the results into the deepest compartment of my bag.

I retreated into the empty house that suddenly felt cold and desolate.