Married to His Double Life

A sound came from the doorway. Liam was home.

I pretended I hadn't found anything and kept sweeping the floor.

"Babe, why aren't you resting? You finally have a day off. You could've left the chores for me."

Once, those words would have made me happy.

Now, they only left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"It's fine. Why are you back?"

I forced my voice to stay steady.

"Forgot something."

He grabbed a few folders from the drawer like it was nothing. I knew the phone was tucked between them.

"I'm heading back to work. Stay home and take it easy. I probably won't be back for dinner."

"Okay."

Liam hurried out, and the smile I'd been barely holding together finally crumbled.

I pulled out my phone and typed "Noah" into the search bar with trembling hands.

The news articles about him were everywhere. I scrolled through them one by one until I finally spotted something.

Two years ago, a news photo showed a small, faint mole on Noah's neck.

A year ago, Noah Brooks and Chloe Sinclair had announced their engagement.

The one with the mole on his neck was Liam. The one engaged to Chloe was also Liam.

Then what was I?

What were our three years of marriage?

I bit my lip and typed "Chloe" into the search bar.

Chloe was an influencer with a modest following. Her feed was full of the glamorous daily life of a rich girl.

While I hung around the market waiting for the last dying fish to get marked down, she was sunbathing on a beach in Hawaii.

While I sat mending years-old clothes with a needle and thread, she was picking through the latest designer pieces delivered to her door.

Her effortless poise and privileged self-assurance made my eyes sting.

As I scrolled, the faded cuff of my sleeve lay against the screen beside one of her four-figure dresses, and my cuff had never looked shabbier.

I instinctively covered my sleeves and could barely bring myself to keep looking.

But I had to.

Because on Valentine's Day, she'd received a custom necklace and an ocean of roses.

And I'd gotten a single red rose and a stuffed cat from a street vendor.

On her birthday, her boyfriend gave her a set of jewelry he'd bought at auction for a fortune, and she'd filmed a video showing it off.

On my birthday, Liam said his boss had sent him on an urgent trip. All he did was have a birthday cupcake delivered.

Drip.

A tear hit the screen.

I didn't want to cry, but I couldn't help it.

Liam was my husband, yet he stood beside another woman under a different name, showering her with gifts and affection I'd never received.

I curled up on the couch, biting my lip, and forced myself through every last video on Chloe's account. When I reached her most recent post, I broke down sobbing.

The video was titled "POV: A Day with My CEO Boyfriend."

She and her boyfriend went out hand in hand. He drove while she fed him strawberries from the passenger seat.

At the mall, she tried on shoes, and her boyfriend knelt down to put them on for her.

The comments were gushing about how sweet they were.

[Someone tell me where to pray to get a boyfriend like this!]

[They are ridiculously cute. Is this what it feels like watching a powerful man bow his head?]

The day they went shopping, it was pouring. I couldn't get a ride and had to stand under a tree to stay dry.

I called Liam and asked him to pick me up, but he said he was working late and couldn't get away.

Not wanting to bother him, I hung up quickly.

By the time I got home, I had come down with a fever after getting soaked. Liam took care of me for two days, his eyes red as he apologized over and over.

He hadn't been working late. He'd been with Chloe.

Click.

The door opened. I looked up with swollen eyes and realized it was already the middle of the night.

I hadn't eaten in hours, but I felt no hunger, only a pain in my chest I couldn't bear.

Liam flipped on the light. When he saw me, he came over, startled, and reached for my forehead.

"Babe, what's wrong? Are you sick?"

I turned my head away, my voice raw.

"Who are you, really? Liam, or Noah?"