All Chapters of The Wife Who Hid Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

My wife, Claire Bennett, raised an irritated hand until the noise in the room died down."Everyone, enough. Ryan and I are just boss and employee."Then she pulled out her phone and texted me right in front of everyone."Happy now?"I opened Ryan Hayes's Instagram and pulled up a photo of the two of them with their faces pressed close together."You get this cozy with each other and still call it a normal working relationship? Ms. Bennett, do you think we're all idiots?"The room burst into laughter. Everyone thought I was leading the teasing.Claire's smile slowly stiffened, and impatience crept into her voice."It's just a cheek-kiss greeting. That's how people say hello abroad. You're reading too much into it."I walked toward her one step at a time."Then give me one too."With everyone watching, irritation flashed across her face."He lived abroad. You didn't.""I didn't, but plenty of people in this company have. Funny how I've never seen you greet any of them like t

"I'm sleeping in the guest room tonight."Claire walked away very slowly. I knew she was waiting for me to stop her.That was how our fights had always gone. One of us gave the other an opening, and the argument ended. We'd been married too long to stay angry over every little thing.But this time, I didn't want to stop her.She practically shuffled all the way into the guest room. When I still said nothing, she slammed the door hard enough to shake the wall.Early the next morning, Claire came out and found me eating breakfast at the table without any hurry at all.She checked the time, and whatever anger she'd held onto overnight came rushing back."Why are you still here? I told you I need to keep professional distance at work. I'm not driving you to the office."Normally, I got up an hour earlier and took the train so no one would see us arriving together.Claire assumed I'd slept in because I was trying to force her to give me a ride."I'll get an Uber."Only then did s

And she'd been raising an ingrate all along.Claire sighed."What does this have to do with me? Mom stopped wanting treatment a long time ago. She was afraid of becoming a burden. You were the one who kept insisting."And even if you'd paid for the transplant, so what? She was old. Do you know how risky a heart transplant is at her age? Even if she survived the surgery, how much longer would she really have had?"Stop putting her through all of this. Maybe letting her go sooner was a mercy."Something inside me snapped.I grabbed whatever was within reach and hurled it in her direction."Get out! I don't want to see you!"Claire left.She didn't come back.I returned home in a daze and packed my mother's belongings.The truth was, if it hadn't been for Claire and me, Mom might never have worn herself down so badly.When Claire's company was just starting out, it had been buried in debt.Mom worked multiple jobs to help us. She never spent money on herself. She wouldn't eve

Claire lowered her eyes, sadness gathering in them."No. I didn't fall for Ryan. When I look at him, I remember how easy life was in college."Back then, there wasn't much to worry about. As long as I passed my classes, I could do whatever I wanted."But whenever I look at Ethan, I remember the years when we were broke. Living in a basement apartment to save money. Then a run-down complex. Waking up every morning to people screaming at each other through the walls."We ate badly. We dressed badly. No matter how often we washed our clothes, they always seemed to carry that cheap, stale smell of poverty."We're rich now, but I still have nightmares that none of this is real. That we're still that desperate couple drowning in debt, chasing money, looking exhausted and pathetic every day."Jenna sighed."So you don't love Ethan anymore? You only feel grateful because he sacrificed for you and stayed through the hard years, and your conscience won't let you divorce him?"Claire pour

A few people pursed their lips but said nothing.The meaning was obvious.None of them thought Ethan was irritating.But because Ryan had such a special relationship with Claire, no one dared say what they were really thinking.Ryan took a breath and knocked on Claire's office door."Come in."The moment Claire saw him, her expression turned cold."What do you want?"Ryan gave her a concerned look."You're upset. Want me to take you to a movie?""No. I have somewhere to go."Claire pushed past him, told the office she'd be out of town for a few days, grabbed her keys, and left.She bought a train ticket to Ethan's hometown.He had asked her for years to come back with him sometime.Claire had always been busy. The trip kept getting postponed.Now she convinced herself that Ethan had left the apartment, quit his job, and taken his mother's ashes home.For the first time in their marriage, Claire went to his hometown.He wasn't there.Linda hadn't been buried there eith