The gold cage

From the very first moment I married Lucas Valeriano five years ago, everyone around me constantly told me exactly the same thing over and over again, as if it was the absolute law of nature and undeniable truth. They told me clearly and repeatedly: “Alessandra, you are lucky. You have everything a woman could ever dream of. You are rich, respected, and married to the most powerful and handsome man in the whole country. You should be happy, contented, and grateful… and most importantly, you must learn to close your eyes, shut your mouth, and accept everything as it comes. Men like Lucas Valeriano were never made for only one woman. Powerful men always have their ways and their pleasures… it is the wife’s duty to stay beautiful, elegant, and understanding, while turning a blind eye to everything else.”

Everyone — my parents, his family, friends, society people — all of them drilled this belief deep into my head and heart, convincing me that this was simply how things worked, how the world operated, and exactly what was expected and required of me as Lucas Valeriano’s legal wife and partner. They made me believe that as long as he kept me in his house, gave me his name, his status, and his protection… I had absolutely no right, reason, or ground to complain, demand, or protest against whatever he chose to do with his life, his time, or his body. They told me clearly that my role was simply to look beautiful, smile gracefully beside him during events and gatherings, run his household perfectly, and pretend that everything was perfect, happy, and ideal no matter what was truly happening behind closed doors.

For the longest time, I tried so hard to follow exactly everything they told and expected from me. I tried my absolute hardest to be exactly the perfect, obedient, and understanding wife everyone wanted and pressured me to be. I truly and deeply loved Lucas from the moment I first laid my eyes upon him, and I honestly believed back then that if I loved him enough, if I was good enough, patient enough, and perfect enough… eventually sooner or later, he would surely see my worth, realize exactly how much I loved and gave him, and he would learn to love, respect, and treasure me the exact same way I always did toward him. I foolishly thought that my endless love, loyalty, and sacrifices would eventually soften his cold heart and break down the thick walls surrounding his emotions completely.

But five years of marriage, five years of endless pain, humiliation, and heartbreak… taught me the cruelest and hardest truth of all. No matter how much you love someone, no matter how perfect, kind, or giving you are… you could never force or make someone love, respect, or value you if they honestly did not see you as important or precious in their eyes. Lucas Valeriano never loved me, not even a little bit, and he never respected me as his wife or as a woman. To him, I was nothing more than just a necessary accessory, a beautiful decoration, and a convenient obligation he had to keep and maintain for the sake of his family name, business reputation, and public image. He kept me close, he gave me everything material I could possibly need or want, yet he denied me the only things I truly needed and craved the most — his love, his loyalty, and his heart.

And worst of all… he openly and shamelessly brought different women into our lives, paraded them in front of my face, showered them with attention, affection, and everything I always begged and dreamed of receiving from him, treating me exactly like I was completely invisible, non‑existent, or simply too insignificant and irrelevant to matter or care about my feelings and reactions.

That evening was exactly like so many evenings I had gone through and endured countless times during our years of marriage. It was our 5th Wedding Anniversary — a special day that was supposed to be romantic, intimate, and memorable, celebrating our love and union. But for Lucas Valeriano, it was simply just another ordinary day, or perhaps even just another perfect excuse and opportunity to host another grand party, gather influential people, and show off his wealth and power to everyone.

The whole mansion was beautifully decorated, filled with expensive flowers, bright lights, luxurious music, and crowded with hundreds of wealthy, high‑class guests chatting, laughing, and drinking happily everywhere. I stood near the main entrance wearing the most expensive, stunning white silk gown, wearing precious diamonds he had gifted me earlier that afternoon, smiling politely and elegantly at everyone who came to greet and congratulate us. Everyone praised me endlessly, telling me how beautiful and lucky I was, how perfect and happy our marriage seemed to be. They all looked at us and saw the perfect, powerful couple — the handsome successful husband and the beautiful elegant wife, seemingly madly in love and perfectly matched together.

But if only they knew… if only they could see and hear exactly what happened and what was truly going on behind all these beautiful lies and masks…

Throughout the whole event, Lucas barely stayed beside me for more than a few minutes at a time. He kept leaving my side constantly, walking around, entertaining guests, laughing charmingly, and acting exactly like the perfect gracious host everyone knew him to be. But I knew him better than anyone else… I noticed clearly exactly where his attention and interest truly lied all night long.

At the far corner of the grand hall, standing near the large glass windows overlooking the beautiful garden, stood a young woman — tall, slender, beautiful with long curly hair and seductive eyes, wearing a revealing red dress that left almost nothing to imagination. She was none other than Chloe Rios — the latest woman Lucas had been seeing and spending almost all his free time with for the past two months. Everyone in our circle knew exactly who she was and exactly what she was to Lucas. She was his newest favorite, his current mistress, and everyone whispered and gossiped quietly claiming she was different from all the others, saying Lucas seemed to be truly infatuated and serious about her this time around.

And throughout the whole night, Lucas kept finding excuses and reasons to go near her, talk to her, touch her arm, whisper things close to her ears, smiling at her with warmth and tenderness that I had never once seen or received from him in all our years together. He looked at her with eyes full of admiration, desire, and affection… exactly the way I always wished, dreamed, and begged him to look at me.

My heart ached and bled silently and painfully inside my chest every single time I watched them together, every time I saw him giving her everything I deserved and needed as his wife. But I swallowed everything down, forced myself to smile brightly, and acted exactly like nothing was happening or hurting me at all, exactly like I always did and exactly what everyone expected from me. I told myself repeatedly that this was nothing new, nothing different from everything I had endured and survived so many times before. I told myself that eventually he would get tired and bored just like he always did, and she would simply become just another name and face added into his long endless list of women he used and threw away afterwards.

However, Chloe Rios was obviously different from the rest of them. She was young, arrogant, ambitious, and clearly had much bigger plans and intentions than just being his temporary mistress and entertainment. She clearly wanted more — she wanted his name, his position, and his life completely and entirely. And she was bold, shameless, and cruel enough to openly show her disrespect and challenge me right inside my own house, right in front of my own face.

Around midnight, when most guests were busy eating, drinking, and dancing happily, I excused myself and walked slowly toward the balcony area to get some fresh air and compose myself, needing a moment alone away from everyone and everything hurting and suffocating me. I stood there quietly, leaning against the railing, breathing deeply the cool night air, letting my tears fall silently and freely since nobody could see or notice me there. But barely two minutes had passed, when I heard the sound of high heels clicking loudly and confidently against the marble floor coming from behind me.

I wiped my tears quickly, composed myself instantly, and turned around calmly to face whoever was coming… only to find Chloe standing right in front of me, looking at me with mocking eyes, arrogant smirk plastered clearly upon her beautiful red lips. She stood there confidently, hands on her waist, looking at me exactly like she was looking at something weak, useless, and completely inferior compared to herself.

"So you are finally alone, Mrs. Valeriano…" Chloe started speaking slowly, sweetly, yet her voice dripping heavily with poison, mockery, and pure disrespect. She walked closer toward me slowly, stopping only about one step away from me, looking me up and down openly and critically exactly like inspecting something old, worn out, and no longer valuable. "I have been wanting to speak to you privately for such a long time… but you always stay so close beside Lucas, acting all perfect, elegant, and loving wife… making it so difficult for me to approach you properly."

"What do you want, Miss Rios?" I asked her calmly, coldly, and composedly, looking straight into her eyes without fear or hesitation, standing tall and dignified exactly like who and what I truly was. "If you are looking for Lucas, he is inside entertaining guests… I believe you know exactly where and how to find him easily enough."

Chloe just laughed softly, cruelly, and shook her head slowly as if I had just said something funny and ridiculous.

"Oh no… I don't need to look for him, Mrs. Valeriano…" She answered mockingly and confidently, smiling widely showing her perfect white teeth. "Because wherever I want him to be, wherever I need him… Lucas will always come and run straight to me immediately, happily, and willingly. You know that perfectly well, don't you? You have seen and known it clearly for such a long time… Lucas belongs to me, his heart belongs entirely to me, and he will do absolutely everything I ask or wish him to do happily and instantly."

She stepped even closer toward me, lowering her voice into sharp whisper full of cruelty and arrogance.

"You really should stop pretending and acting foolish, Alessandra…" Chloe continued speaking harshly and rudely, dropping my title and calling my name casually and disrespectfully, clearly showing exactly how little respect or fear she had toward me and my position. "Everyone knows exactly the truth and reality of everything. Everyone knows Lucas never loved you, never wanted you, and only married you because of his family’s pressure and business arrangement. You are nothing to him… absolutely nothing except a heavy burden, a boring obligation, and an old expired chapter of his life that he is just waiting and finding a perfect way to get rid of completely."

She smirked cruelly seeing my face turning pale and hurt, enjoying every bit of pain and reaction she managed to provoke and cause inside me.

"He loves me Alessandra! He loves me more than everything and everyone else in this whole world!" Chloe shouted quietly yet fiercely and triumphantly, her eyes shining bright with malice and triumph. "He tells me everything, he promises me everything… and very soon, he is going to divorce you and marry me instead! He is going to replace you completely and entirely, and you will lose everything you currently hold and enjoy — his name, his money, his status, everything! You will be left alone, old, used, and completely worthless… while I will take everything you think you own and deserve! I will be the new Mrs. Valeriano, and you will just become nothing but a forgotten memory and history nobody cares or remembers anymore!"

She raised her hand confidently and arrogantly, pointing her finger straight directly into my face, looking at me exactly like I was some kind of dirt or trash she wanted to wipe away and get rid of completely.

"You are nothing Alessandra! You are just a useless wall blocking my path… and I will make sure to break you down and push you aside completely very soon!" Chloe spat out every single word sharply and venomously, clearly intending to hurt, humiliate, and destroy me completely and thoroughly. "And if you know what is good and best for yourself… you better pack your things and leave quietly and voluntarily before I make your life even more miserable and unbearable than it already is! Stop acting like the Queen of this house… because truthfully speaking… you are nothing but just a pathetic woman being pitied and laughed at by everyone behind your back!"

For a few seconds after she finished speaking all those hurtful, cruel, and disrespectful words… everything went silent and still around us. Chloe stood there smiling proudly and victoriously, fully confident and absolutely certain that she had successfully broken, humiliated, and defeated me completely just exactly like she planned and wanted. She honestly thought that because Lucas favored her, loved her, and gave her everything… she had absolute rights and power to insult me, disrespect me, and step all over me however and whenever she pleased. She honestly believed exactly like Lucas and everyone else always thought… that I was weak, obedient, and cowardly wife who would simply swallow everything silently, cry privately, and accept everything helplessly without fighting or defending myself.

But she was terribly, fatally, and painfully wrong.

I looked straight deep into her eyes, feeling the burning mixture of anger, pain, and pure rage rising fast and violently deep within my chest, boiling my blood and clouding my vision completely red. All the years of suppressed pain, humiliation, and suffering suddenly burst out violently and uncontrollably all at once inside me. She wasn't just insulting me… she was insulting my marriage, my rights, my dignity, and everything I had fought for and protected for years. She dared to come right inside my own house, wearing the gifts and jewelry bought from my husband’s own money and wealth, eating the food prepared inside my kitchen, breathing the air inside my own home… yet she had the guts and audacity to insult, threaten, and humiliate me exactly like I was nothing and nobody at all.

Slowly and calmly, I raised my right hand high up into the air, and without even blinking or hesitating even for a split second… I swung my hand hard and fast across her beautiful arrogant face.

SLAP!!!

The sound echoed loudly and sharply through the quiet balcony area — loud, clear, and powerful enough to make Chloe stumbled backwards several steps away from me, clutching her stinging red cheek tightly with both hands, her eyes wide open, shocked, hurt, and absolutely stunned beyond belief. She stared at me completely speechless, unable to believe and comprehend what had just happened and what I had exactly done to her.

TO BE CONTINUED