Can Married Women Use Miss Or Ms?

“How long has this been going on?” Fatima’s voice is steady, almost too steady. Her husband of six years stands there without a hint of shame. “Does it matter, Fatima? Yes, Leslie is pregnant with my child, but nothing is going to change,” he says, annoyed that she dares question him. Her calmness makes him shift, though he refuses to show it. “How. Long?” She repeats slowly, keeping her voice low so she won’t wake their sleeping children. “Three years.” Fatima blinks. “You’ve been cheating on me for half our marriage… with your business partner?” “Lower your voice. Don’t make it sound bad. I’m a man – these things happen.” He even chuckles. “Leslie will be taken care of. You’ll stay the wife, and Leslie and I–” “Will get married,” she cuts in. He stares, thrown off, until she adds, “Top drawer in your office. Divorce papers. Sign them first thing tomorrow.” No tears. No raised voice. No trembling. Just calm finality, and that unsettles him more than anger ever could. “I’m not letting that happen. You’re my wife.” “Ex-wife,” she corrects softly. Before he can react, Fatima pushes her chair back and stands. She doesn’t storm off or slam anything. She simply picks up a magazine from the table and walks out with quiet, controlled steps, far too composed for a woman ending a six-year marriage. And that hits him harder than any shouting would have. No tears. No pleading. No hesitation. Nothing. It wounds his pride. He deserves tears. “Hold on,” he snaps, rising quickly from his seat.

When poor dressmaker Leah Parker delivers a wedding gown to the powerful Grant family, she expects payment, not a trap. But the real bride, Olivia Grant, has vanished on her wedding day, and the Grants need someone to protect their billion-dollar alliance with cold CEO Daniel Cole. Forced to wear Olivia’s dress and marry in her name, Leah enters a dangerous contract marriage built on fear, lies, and hidden identity. Daniel has never met Olivia, but he quickly senses that his new wife is not the spoiled heiress he expected. She is too quiet, too kind, and too terrified of the family that claims to love her. As suspicion turns into protection, Daniel begins to uncover the mystery behind Olivia’s disappearance—and the truth that Leah was never chosen by accident. In a marriage that began as a mistake, Leah may become the only woman Daniel refuses to lose.

On the eve of our wedding, I find out that the wedding invitations have Travis Somerson's and his assistant, Victoria Cademere's names printed on them instead of mine. I demand an answer from Victoria, who bursts into tears and tells me that she has accidentally mistyped the bride's name as hers. Travis calls me right away. "It's just a naming mistake, Harper! Must you make such a huge deal out of such a small mistake?" He even calls me a petty and jealous woman who can't even tolerate the presence of a female employee in his vicinity. Five minutes later, Victoria uploads another social media post. Apparently, not only has she uploaded a photo of the wedding invitation, but she also adds a couple photo of her and Travis being lovey-dovey. The caption reads, "Mr. Somerson told me that even if I screw up, he'll be there to help me settle everything." If a female employee were to provoke me in the past, I'd have forced Travis to fire the former. But this time, I no longer care about him anymore.

I've returned to the country on the night of New Year's Eve. At the welcoming party, my girlfriend, Sabrina Monroe, suddenly produces a diamond ring and goes down on one knee. "Although this proposal is delayed by three years, our love is never late. Will you marry me, Colin Lawrence?" All of our friends begin cheering on us. Everyone is practically waiting for me to nod and accept Sabrina's proposal with tears in my eyes. They've completely forgotten about the fact that I prepared a lavish marriage proposal for Sabrina on New Year's Eve three years ago. Back then, she had told me that she'd show up on time. But that night, I was the only one present in a fancy suit. I waited the whole night for Sabrina, and yet she never showed her face. All I received was a phone call. "Matthew has fallen ill. I'm too busy taking care of him, and I can't leave his side at all. Let's put a raincheck on the marriage, yeah?" So, I left the country on New Year and accepted the marriage alliance my family had arranged for me. This means I'm already married to someone else for three years.

When I'm at the hospital for a prenatal checkup, I find out that the husband of the woman sitting beside me is Rupert Hensley, a renowned businessman. It's such a coincidence. Rupert is my husband, too. As we chat, I learn that her husband isn't with her because he's out of town for a meeting. This is even more coincidental—my husband is also out of town for a meeting. After a long silence, I decide to get an abortion instead of going for my prenatal checkup. It's only when I later ask for a divorce that I remember he and I never registered our marriage in the first place.

On Valentine's Day, Mason Hamilton turned our wedding into a spectacle. He bought up every major screen in the city and put my name on all of them. I cried when I saw it. I turned down a guaranteed spot in a top graduate program overseas without a second thought. That was before the address verification today. The staff member couldn't hide the sympathy in her eyes. "According to our system, the registered owner of this unit is Stella Wallace. She's also listed as Mr. Hamilton's legal wife. You're recorded here as a temporary occupant." I pushed open the door to Mason's office and found him bent over Stella's hand, pressing a kiss to her ring finger. When I confronted him, he frowned, impatience already showing on his face. "Stella didn't have parents growing up, so she's always felt insecure. It's just a property title and a marriage certificate. I gave her the title to make her feel better. You had the wedding every woman wanted. I made sure the whole world knew you were my wife. What more do you want?" Stella rested against him, her smile light and easy. "Come on, Paige. Don't be mad. I only care about the title. He still goes home to you every night." I looked down at the ring on my finger. It felt wrong all of a sudden, like it didn't belong there. I took it off and placed it on his desk. Then I left, sending my dad a message as I walked out. [I'm coming home.]