He's Just A Substitute That Doesn't Matter Novels & Stories

I was prepping the ceremonial cloak for our seventh mating anniversary. The front door suddenly banged open. My son rushed inside, tears streaming down his face. "The teacher yelled at me," he sobbed. He shoved the wrinkled drawing into my hands before burying his face in my shirt. I smoothed out the paper to see what the drama was about. It was a sketch of a faceless woman titled: The Substitute Mom. My heart stopped as I read the scribbles underneath. "Daddy said she is the backup."

I tried to change the topic. He scoffed. “I don’t need to explain it to you!” Oh, I wish I had a lot of patience. If I am not thinking of Harriet, I already knocked his head off. Why of all places he is here? I am not even sure about pretending to be Harriet but it seems like this is the universe giving me signs. “Seriously? You didn’t even go to our meet-up. You made me wait for hours without any explanation then I am going to see you here enjoying yourself. Are you fucking kidding me? Don’t you dare break our engagement! You know what will happen if you break it!”

" He sighed. ‘’Van you have to believe me when I say I’m sorry.’’ She shook her head. ‘’Sorry doesn’t change what you did.’’ ‘’I know and that's why I won’t stop trying.’’ He smiled, ‘’I had fun being a barista for a day.’’ ‘’Don’t get too excited cause I might make you regret you ever said that.’’

He needs to recognize we’re wasting our time. “Right.” He says. “Laps. I want ten laps of the field now.” I shake my head and walk away. He doesn’t say anything. What’s he really going to do? Not let me play next week. I’m the goddamn fucking quarterback, he needs me. Our replacement isn’t anywhere as good as me, he hardly sees any play time in any case. I’ve the upper hand here right now.

He watched instead, eyes tracking every movement, every reaction. “You are tired,” he said. “We will talk about this again when you are thinking clearly.” “I am thinking clearly now,” I replied. “That is what scares you.” His expression hardened for the first time. “I will not compete with hired help for your attention,” he said. “If Jacob North needs to be replaced, he will be.” The casual cruelty of it made my stomach twist. “He is not replaceable,” I said. “And he isn’t a hired help.” Adrian tilted his head. “Everyone is.”

Theo strolls in, sleeves rolled up, tablet tucked under his arm. “You know,” he says, sliding into the chair opposite me, “for someone who allegedly lost his entire personal life in the last week, you’re doing a fantastic impression of not giving a damn.” “That’s because this empire doesn’t run on feelings. I don’t give a damn.” “Bullshit,” he says. “And I say that lovingly.” I shoot him a look. He doesn’t back down. “You’re deflecting. But I’ll choose to ignore it all like you.”

“Are you the substitute?” I glanced at Felix, then back at the old woman. I nodded. “Speak!” She growled. I took two steps back in panic, “Yes, I am.” “If you are the substitute, then what are you doing in the company? Are you trying to ruin everything? The world thinks he's married to Rose Fred… what would you do if the world found out he got dumped? Would you compensate me for the loss?” “The world would never find out because at work we are simply…”

“You’re threatening the wrong person.” “Am I?” His smile was slow and deadly. “Let me make something clear. Men like you are replaceable. Men like him are not.” My jaw clenched. “You don’t get to speak about him.” “Oh, I will.” He moved closer enough that I could smell trouble on him. “You’re a distraction he cannot afford. You’re a weakness he doesn’t see yet.” I shoved him back. “I’m not his weakness.”

What he said. “I don’t love you” “You are just a substitute .” Those words played in my head like a curse. “You don’t get to care now,” I said quietly. He blinked. “What?” “You treated me like I was nothing,” I said, trying not to raise my voice. “Like I was just a substitute. Like I didn’t matter. You told me you loved me, and then you told her you didn’t. I was just a piece in your game, wasn’t I?”

The entire room was doing it for me. Martha never showed. Half the class was refreshing the university subreddit every thirty seconds for new leaks. Someone had already photoshopped Hartman’s faculty headshot onto a milk carton, “HAVE YOU SEEN A CAREER?” The substitute professor walked in ten minutes late, looking like she’d aged ten years overnight, and just wrote on the board: Class cancelled. Check your email for further instructions. Everyone cheered. I pulled my phone out, thumb hovering over Enzo’s name, and shot him a single text.