THE OTHER WOMAN

Vanya's POV 

"Dario" I breathed out with relief forgetting momentarily that he has company. I rushed to hug him, he didn't hug me back but he allowed me hug him.

"Dario, where have you been?" He didn't answer.

"Is she the one?" The lady with blonde hair, fake lashes and layers of makeup on her face clinging to his side asked.

"Yes, she is." He smiled at her.

Dario knows how to smile.

"Hi, I'm Seraphina, nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you." She stretched her palm with long painted nails to me. I was dumbfounded.

"Who.. who?" I stuttered.

She kept grinning widely without saying anything.

I ignored her.

"Dario, who is she?" I demanded. He was not even looking at me.

"Who am I? His first love." The blonde said again.

My head snapped between them. First love? What was she even talking about?

"Dario you went missing just before our event could start, don't you think I deserve an explanation?"

"And why do you deserve an explanation." His voice cut through the air icily.

My heart sunk. I took a step back. Rowan held me. 

"Dario, I was worried for you." My voice cracked again as I tried to conceal my sobs.

"I am back." He merely said and walked past me with the lady still holding his arm. The reality of my shattered marriage was a pill too bitter to swallow. I turned to look at Rowan, he shook his head.

I did not cry. I went back inside to join the celebrations that was meant for me.

I stood at a distance watching Dario and Seraphina walking around greeting the guests at my own wedding anniversary. 

Maybe she is just a friend. Or an old friend. Or an old lover that came to wish us well. Maybe he is just introducing her to people but it didn't stop there. During the banquet, he made her sit next to him while I sat with Rowan. 

I calmed myself down. I did not want to ruin the rest of the day for myself.

Later that evening when everybody had gone back to their different houses, I retired to my own bedroom after promising Rowan that I won't cry again.

I undressed and took a quick bath before putting on my night wear. I pulled the locker by the side of my bed and brought out a small red gift box that I had carefully wrapped. 

It contained my pregnancy test results.

"You are two months gone." The doctor had told me three days ago.

I was so happy. I was planning to give him as an anniversary gift.

I waited in the dark, my heart thumping against my ribs every time I heard a floorboard creak.

Finally, the door swung open.

"Dario?" I stood up, a nervous smile tugging at my lips. "I’ve been waiting. I have something to tell you..."

"I want you out of this room, Vanya."

His voice didn't just sound cold; it sounded bored. He didn't even look at me. He walked straight to the walk-in closet, the scent of Seraphina’s cloying, floral perfume clinging to his suit jacket like a brand.

"What? Dario, it’s our anniversary. I don't understand..."

"I had the maids prepare the guest room in the West Wing," he said, his back still turned as he began pulling my silk dresses off their hangers. He didn't unhook them gently; he ripped them down. "Stay there for the time being. Or leave the house. I don't care which."

"This room is too large for one person," he said, finally turning. His eyes were like flint, they lookef hard, grey, and utterly devoid of the man I had married. "And Seraphina finds the guest quarters too cramped. She’s staying here."

A sharp gasp escaped my throat. "She’s staying here? In our bed? Dario, I am your wife!"

A title you've held for three years too long," he countered, his voice a low, dangerous growl.

A knock at the door interrupted my sob. Three maids stood there, their heads bowed in shame.

"Take everything," Dario commanded them, gesturing to the pile of my life on the floor. "I don't want to see a single trace of her when I return"

He stepped toward the door, pausing only for a second as he passed me. I thought, for one fleeting moment, he might see the tears. I thought he might see the red box in my hand. Instead, he leaned in, his voice a cold whisper in my ear.

"Don't make this difficult, Vanya. You were always just a placeholder. The real owner of this house has returned."

He walked out without a backward glance.

He left. And that was the last I had seen of my husband for the next 3 days. Seraphina moved into my matrimonial room and laid on my matrimonial bed. 

I heard moans at night when I went to check. He had sex with another woman in my room. I went to my room, clutched my stomach and cried my eyes out.

On the fourth day I heard his footsteps downstairs and hurried out to catch a glimpse of him. He was standing all dressed to go out.

"Dario..." I hurried down the stairs. 

"Dario."

She came out looking all dolled up. 

"How do I look?" 

I couldn't move. Everything looked like a movie.

"Like a queen, baby." He pecked her. Right in front of me. She giggled excitedly like a kid and they walked out.

My head started spinning. My sight suddenly got blurry. I didn't know what happened but I woke up in the hospital with Rowan and Maggie beside me.

"Ma'am." She hurried over when she saw me open my eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Rowan asked. I had no words to say.

"He is not here?" Rowan shook his head. I heard Maggie sob.

"So, she was the reason for his cold attitude all these years? How long have they been together?" 

Rowan hesitated.

"Seven.."

"And you knew about it?" I yelled. A sharp pain tore my forehead. "Ouch."

"Easy Vanya. I didn't know they were still together. He used to date her during our school days and a few years after. They broke up before your marriage." 

"Seven years? I don't even stand a chance." 

"I swear I didn't know Vanya." 

I looked at Rowan and shook my head. I must be something pitiful at this moment. 

"Rowan leave"

"Vanya.."

"Leave!" 

I broke down again. Maggie tried her best to console me but it wasn't working. The doctor came in immediately after Rowan left.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

I didn't care. "How is my baby?"

"How are you..."

"Doctor how is my baby?"

I left the hospital three days later and I heard that Dario had come with Seraphina to check how I was doing. I had charged the doctor to say nothing of my pregnancy to anyone. It was a secret between the three of us. Even Rowan wasn't supposed to know.

I went home feeling even more dejected that I had ever been. Maggie's attempts at cheering me up weren't working. I was dying inside. 

"He asked for you when he came yesterday. He asked if you had woken up and if you were eating well, then left." She continued attempting.

That wasn't enough. Couldn't be enough and will never be enough. His wife was hospitalised and he didn't even care to look at her face, but instead left with another woman.  

"If he wants to treat me like a stranger, I would become the most dangerous stranger he ever met."