Discarded like trash

Harriet's point of view

All I wanted was to feel one thing at a time, to cry, or laugh, or scream until my voice gave out, anything but this tight, overwhelming pressure in my chest. My fingers dug into my purse, gripping it like I might lose what was inside if I let go. 

Five years of quiet disappointment, swallowed pain, smiling through questions that cut deeper than they should. And now… this miracle I had almost stopped believing in.

“Lastly, my heart goes to a very special someone.” My husband's voice pulled me back into the ballroom, which smelled like expensive perfume and flowers. I looked up at him, a wide smile appearing on my face as I took him in. Randy Provost stood tall on stage, confident and composed in that charcoal suit that made him look untouchable, completely unaware that tonight, I was about to change his world with a single sentence.

A light touch brushed my arm, I flinched slightly. “Linda,” I exhaled. She leaned closer from behind, her voice warm with certainty. “He’s going to say your name tonight, Harriet. I know it.”

“You sound more confident than I feel,” I murmured, eyes fixed on the stage. 

“Because someone in this room has to be,” she replied. “You carried half this company on your back all these years. You are the reason this company is celebrating today, if he doesn’t say your name, I will.” 

A soft laugh slipped out of me. “Please don’t start something that gets both of us thrown out.” 

Linda shrugged lightly. “For you? I’d start a war.” 

My smile lingered, softer this time. Today was supposed to be perfect, first, it's our fifth wedding anniversary. Then the expansion of Provost's empire. And now… this, my hand drifted to my stomach before I could stop it, resting there for just a second. Randy paused at the podium, his eyes sparking the way it always does when he is about to say something important.

I straightened as Linda’s fingers tightened around my arm. “Here it comes,” she whispered.

My heart followed the silence, then Randy continued; “This person has been my secret backbone,” his voice warm in a way I hadn’t heard directed at me in a long time. “Every decision, every risk, every late night… she was there.” 

My stomach jumped in excitement at his words…finally he would show me to the world, shutting the mouths of all those gossiping over my head. 

“I wouldn’t be standing here today without her sacrifice,” he continued. “And it would be selfish not to acknowledge her tonight.”

My smile stretched wider, my foot itching with anticipation. Randy lifted his eyes and I rose slightly in my seat, but he wasn’t looking at me, his eyes traveled behind me and then his lips curved into something softer.  “Sienna Blake.” 

The name dropped like glass shattering. “What?” Linda whispered sharply. 

“Please,” Randy continued smoothly, gesturing toward the stage, “join me.”

The applause started behind me, loud and mocking. Randy's mother's hands led it, commanding the room. And as always, the room followed, because when she moved, everyone followed. 

I stood when others did, my hands came together, clapping as my husband’s ex took my place right before my eyes. My vision blurred, my hands trembled, but my face stayed perfectly in place. 

Linda didn’t clap. “Harriet… no, that’s not right. That’s not…”

“It is,” I said quietly. “Just listen,who is the crowd cheering for?” 

On stage, Randy smiled at Sienna, then his hands opened for a hug that lasted more than ten seconds, then a kiss on her left cheek. 

“Thank you, Randy,” Sienna said softly into the microphone. “I couldn’t have done this without your belief in me.” 

Belief, the word twisted somewhere deep inside me. 

Linda leaned closer again. “You built that proposal, I was there, he knows that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, but it did. It mattered in a quiet, suffocating kind of way. “Harriet,” Linda’s voice broke slightly, “you have to talk to him after this. Don’t just let it go.”

“I’m fine,” the lie came too easily and I walked out before the applause ended. No one stopped me, Randy didn’t even look up. 

***********

By the time I got home, my nose was running, my eyes swollen and my heart was in shreds. My body folded inward as the raw and uncontrollable sobs increased. 

I didn’t know when I fell asleep, I only felt someone's feet nudging me awake. I jerked up, smoothing my dress like it was going to hide how broken I was. Randy’s gaze swept over me, his disgust so visible I almost crawled under the table. 

For a moment, all I could hear was my heartbeat, then he sighed, a low sound that made my hands shiver. He lingered near the bed, shifting slightly, like he didn’t want to be here but didn’t know how to leave yet. 

My fingers tightened around my purse again, “there’s something you need to see,” I said softly, tearing my eyes away from his face. “It’s good news, I found out this morning, before…”

“Stop, Harriet,” his cold voice cut through mine.“I don’t care about anything that comes from you.”The words landed harder than they should have and I turned slowly, forcing a smile onto my lips.  

“What do you care about then?” I asked. “Because it’s obvious you didn’t come in here for nothing.” 

He hesitated, just for a second, then his eyes met mine. “Let’s end this.” 

The words didn’t register at first,“what?” 

“This marriage,” he said, more clearly this time. “Let’s put an end to it.”