Chapter 3

The sound of spoons touching plates filled the dining room, but Elena could barely hear it. Her eyes were fixed on the woman sitting across from Adrian.

Sophia.

She was really here.

The woman whose name Elena had heard from her husband's lips the night before. The woman in the video. The woman Adrian had loved before Elena ever became his wife.

Sophia looked beautiful.

Her long hair fell neatly over her shoulders, and she wore a simple cream dress that made her look calm and elegant. She was smiling softly as if she belonged at that table.

As if she had always belonged there.

Elena's chest tightened.

Then Audrey looked up.

Her eyes landed on Elena, and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Look who decides to come back."

Elena swallowed.

Victoria slowly turned her head toward the doorway. The moment she saw Elena, her expression changed.

"Where have you been all night?" she asked.

Elena opened her mouth, but before she could answer, Victoria continued.

"Do you think being married means you can leave the house whenever you want and return whenever you feel like it?"

"Mother is right," Isabelle added. "A married woman should have some shame."

Elena stared at them.

She had expected them to be unhappy with her, but she had not expected to stand at the door of her own home and feel like a stranger.

"I was not—"

"Not what?" Victoria cut in. "Not out with another man?"

Elena's heart dropped.

She looked at Adrian.

He was sitting quietly at the table.

Her husband.

The man she had spent five years trying to understand.

The man whose approval she had spent years hoping to earn.

She waited for him to say something.

Anything.

She wanted him to tell his mother that they were wrong. She wanted him to say that Elena had called him because she needed help. She wanted him to tell them that she had never given him a reason to doubt her.

But Adrian said nothing.

His eyes only rested on her for a moment before he looked back at his plate.

That silence hurt more than Victoria's words.

Elena felt something inside her break.

She had spent five years making excuses for Adrian. Whenever he ignored her, she told herself he was busy. Whenever he refused to come close to her, she told herself he needed time. Whenever he treated her like someone who was simply living in his house, she told herself that perhaps one day things would change.

But standing there now, she realized how foolish she had been.

She had defended him even when he was not there to defend her.

Yet when everyone was standing against her, he could not even open his mouth.

Her eyes moved to Sophia.

Sophia was watching her.

Then she smiled.

It was not an ugly smile. It was soft and beautiful, the kind of smile that would make anyone think she was kind.

"You should not be too upset," Sophia said gently. "I understand that things can be difficult in a marriage."

Elena stared at her.

Sophia continued, "But Elena, you deserve better than this. You should at least take better care of yourself. Even if you want to leave the house, you should not look like this."

Elena looked down at herself.

Her clothes were slightly wet from the rain. Her hair was not properly arranged, and she had spent the night in a hotel after standing outside in the rain for hours.

She knew she did not look good.

But hearing those words from Sophia made her blood run hot.

A stranger had just walked into her home and was commenting on her appearance as though she had a right to judge her.

And everyone at the table was listening.

Elena slowly walked into the room.

"When family members are talking," she said, trying to keep her voice calm, "a stranger should not say anything."

Sophia's smile faded slightly.

Elena took another step.

"This is my marriage. Whatever happens between me and my husband has nothing to do with you."

"Enough."

Adrian's voice stopped her.

Elena turned toward him.

He finally looked at her.

His face was calm, but there was something unreadable in his eyes.

"Can you just stop defending yourself and accept that you have been sleeping around with men?"

The words hit Elena so hard that she forgot how to breathe.

For a moment, she thought she had heard him wrong.

"What?"

Her voice came out weak.

Adrian did not repeat himself.

Elena stared at him, waiting for even the smallest sign that he did not mean what he had said.

There was none.

"Even you believe I did such a thing?"

Her voice shook.

Adrian looked away.

That was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

She quickly blinked them back.

"No. I did not do anything wrong."

Nobody answered.

Elena looked around the table.

"My cab driver cancelled the ride because of the rain. I waited outside until I was completely soaked. I called Adrian because I needed him to send someone for me."

Adrian's jaw tightened.

"Please save the excuses."

"They are not excuses!"

Elena's voice rose before she could stop herself.

She had been quiet for too long.

"I called you several times. You did not answer me. I was standing outside in the rain, Adrian. I had nowhere to go."

"You could have called someone else."

"I called my husband!"

The words came out with so much pain that the room became silent.

Elena looked directly into his eyes.

"I called the man I thought I could depend on."

For the first time, Adrian's expression changed.

Only for a second.

Something passed through his eyes, something Elena could not understand.

But it disappeared almost immediately.

He stood up.

"Please stop making yourself look innocent."

Elena felt another tear fall down her cheek.

She wiped it away quickly.

"I have never cheated on you."

Adrian looked at her for a long moment.

Then he said quietly, "Just don't bring some unknown sickness into this house. I won't spend a dime on treatment."

Elena froze.

She felt as if someone had slapped her.

Her lips parted, but no words came.

She had heard many painful things in her life, but nothing had ever made her feel this small.

She had been his wife for five years.

He had never touched her.

He had never treated her like the woman he married.

Yet now he was looking at her as though she were dirty.

Elena pressed her lips together, fighting the tears.

"How can you say that to me?"

Adrian did not answer.

Instead, he turned toward Sophia.

"Sophia will be staying here for a while."

Elena's heart stopped.

She looked at Sophia.

Then at Adrian.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"She is staying here?"

"Yes."

Elena felt her hands begin to shake.

"This is our home."

Adrian's eyes hardened slightly.

"It is also my home."

The words were simple, but they cut deeply.

Elena looked at him, hoping he would explain.

Why was Sophia here?

Why had she returned?

Why was she staying in their home?

Why did Adrian look at her as though this was the most normal thing in the world?

She wanted answers.

She deserved answers.

But Adrian did not give her any.

He simply reached for Sophia's hand.

Elena stared at their hands.

Something inside her sank.

Sophia stood up.

"Adrian, maybe this is not a good idea," she said softly.

But she did not pull her hand away.

Adrian looked at her.

"Come with me."

They walked toward the stairs.

Elena remained standing in the middle of the dining room.

Victoria followed them upstairs, and Audrey and Isabelle soon followed as well.

Nobody asked Elena if she was all right.

Nobody cared that she was standing there with tears running down her face.

The room slowly became empty.

Elena looked at the staircase.

She could still see Adrian holding Sophia's hand.

Her husband had brought his first love into their home.

Their home.

She covered her mouth with her hand as a sob escaped.

She did not want anyone to hear her cry.

She did not want them to know how badly they had hurt her.

So she turned and walked upstairs.

Her legs felt weak.

When she reached their bedroom, she closed the door behind her.

The moment the door shut, she broke down.

She leaned against it and slid slowly to the floor.

Her tears would not stop.

She thought about the scholarship letter sitting safely in her bag.

Yesterday, she had been so happy.

She had wanted to tell Adrian that she had finally received the opportunity she had prayed for.

She had imagined him smiling.

Maybe, for once, he would have looked proud of her.

Maybe he would have hugged her.

Maybe their fifth anniversary would have been the beginning of something better.

Instead, she had discovered that the woman from his past was back.

And now that woman was living under the same roof with her.

Elena covered her face.

"What did I ever do to deserve this?"

There was no answer.

She stayed on the floor for several minutes, crying until her head began to hurt.

Then she heard the bedroom door open.

Adrian walked inside.

Elena quickly wiped her face and stood up.

She did not want him to see her crying.

She did not want him to know that his words had destroyed her.

Adrian looked at her.

"Why are you still upset?"

Elena stared at him in disbelief.

"Why am I still upset?"

She gave a small, painful laugh.

"You accused me of sleeping with other men. You accused me of bringing sickness into this house. Then you brought your first love here and told me she is staying with us."

Adrian's face remained calm.

"You are being dramatic."

"Am I?"

Elena stepped closer.

"Then tell me what I am supposed to feel."

Adrian said nothing.

"You have never touched me, Adrian. For five years, I have slept beside you and felt like I was sleeping beside a stranger. I kept telling myself that maybe you needed time. I kept telling myself that maybe things would change."

Her voice broke.

"But now I understand."

Adrian's eyes moved away from hers.

"I am tired of explaining myself."

"You have never explained anything to me!"

Silence.

Elena stared at him through her tears.

"Is this what you want? Sophia back in your life?"

Adrian's expression became unreadable.

"That is none of your concern."

Elena felt those words in her chest.

She nodded slowly.

"Then what am I to you?"

Adrian looked at her.

For a moment, his eyes softened.

It was so quick that Elena almost thought she imagined it.

Then his face became cold again.

"If you are tired of this marriage, then leave."

Elena stopped breathing.

Adrian turned and walked out.

The door closed behind him.

Elena stood there alone.

His words kept repeating inside her head.

For five years, she had been afraid of losing her marriage.

But for the first time, Elena wondered if losing Adrian was actually the thing she needed to survive.