Under the Rain, Love Fades

"Stephanie, no wonder you dressed up to the nines today. Looks like you knew about the announcement before the rest of us."

My coworkers teased me, thinking that I was so sensible that I deserved a promotion and a raise. But I felt ice-cold from head to toe.

I couldn't even force a smile.

I'd been secretly married to Cameron Cox for nine years. He had always refused to make our relationship public, claiming that company policy didn't allow office romances.

Then, two days ago, after I closed a huge deal for the company, he had finally agreed to announce our marriage before the Fourth of July holiday.

Back then, we hadn't had a wedding, or even the kind of carefree marriage most people took for granted. Rather, we split our everyday expenses right down the middle.

I had saved half a year's salary just to have this dress custom-made. I just wanted to look good enough to stand beside him when we finally went public.

I had been so nervous and excited that I hadn't slept a wink the night before. I never imagined I'd end up being the biggest joke in the room.

I raised my stiff arm and started clapping. "Congratulations. I hope you two have a long, happy marriage and a house full of kids."

The other employees, assuming I'd said exactly what Cameron wanted, immediately joined in. The atmosphere that had moments ago been sweet and romantic suddenly became painfully awkward.

Cameron's lover, Poppy Campbell, stood in front of me with the wedding dress gathered in her hands. She grabbed my wrist, her face filled with panic.

"Stephanie, please, just let me explain..."

She didn't even finish the sentence before she suddenly started gasping for air. Cameron's composure was shattered instantly.

"Her asthma is acting up!" he shouted urgently. "Get the car ready! We're going to the hospital!"

The romantic proposal turned into chaos as everyone around us began whispering anxiously.

Cameron rushed forward, scooped Poppy into his arms, and carried her toward the exit. In his panic, he shoved me aside without a second thought.

I stumbled and hit the floor hard. After struggling back to my feet, I limped to the car on my sprained ankle.

Inside, Cameron was frantically wiping the sweat from Poppy's forehead as she lay unconscious against the seat. His eyes were filled with worry, tenderness, and regret, as though his wife for the past nine years had always been her.

Poppy's long lashes fluttered. Her breathing had already returned to normal. Anyone paying close attention could tell she was faking it.

I rubbed my swollen ankle, having no intention of exposing such a childish little act. But Cameron, normally sharp enough to see through anyone's schemes, seemed oblivious.

He grabbed my wedding ring and hurled it at me.

"Poppy has asthma. You knew that!" he snapped. "How could you provoke her in front of all those people? There's a limit to how far you can take a joke."

Normally, anything involving Poppy would have been enough to spark another vicious argument between us. And this time, I had every reason to be angry.

After all, Cameron had promised that we'd finally go public with our marriage, and Poppy had deliberately ruined it by showing up in a wedding dress.

I had responded by giving her my wedding ring and even congratulating them. Yet somehow, Cameron accused me of causing a scene.

On any other day, I would have torn into him. But then, I remembered the look in his eyes when Poppy had walked in wearing that wedding dress and declared that she had come to marry him.

Cameron had always been distant and unreadable. But when he'd looked at her, his eyes had been overflowing with love.

I finally saw the truth. The happy marriage I'd spent nine years believing in had never really existed. It had only ever been something I wanted to believe was real.