The First Husband: A Novel Novels & Stories

“But, how is it that you were married to her all these years and didn’t even know what she liked to eat? That’s pretty pathetic for a husband…” “Ex-husband,” Adam corrected with a smirk. “What about you?” I snapped, glaring at Arlington. “Your pathetic pining for my wife from a distance, for years, has clearly gotten you nowhere. Talk about pathetic…” Arlington froze for a moment before smiling politely. “Not so distant, I admit.” “You are not the father of my child,” I replied, stepping aside for a nurse who had come down the corridor. “And neither are you, Adam.” “You’re sure of that?” Adam asked, crossing his arms. “How many times have you slept with Alice over the years? A dozen? Less?”

He was hiding something. By the time the bathroom door swung open, I was already lying in bed pretending to be asleep. Zachary slipped under the covers and wrapped his arms around me from behind like he always did. However, I couldn't help but feel as though his embrace felt like a stranger's. Once his breathing finally evened, I eased out of bed and picked up his phone on the nightstand. We'd been married for a decade. Yet, this was the first time I had ever looked through his phone. How ironic.

People began to see Claire as a modern Cinderella, fiercely loyal to her husband through his lowest moments. "They’re calling me an amazing wife," Claire murmured, wiping tears from her cheeks. "Yesterday they were condemning me." "That’s the world we live in, Claire. They only follow what they’re fed," Julian said. He sat beside her and squeezed her hand tightly. "The important thing is your name is clear now. No one will dare to disrespect you on campus again." Claire looked at Julian with deep intensity. There was immense relief, but somewhere deep in her heart, a sense of strangeness arose at the power her husband had demonstrated. Julian had been able to destroy the Adeline family and r

“You don’t need to know. I will make things quick right now. My husband and I are currently in an open marriage…” “Seraphina” A growl rumbled from Rowan’s throat while Bob searched his eyes around as if looking for a quick escape. I ignored Rowan, taking another step forward until I closed the space between me and Bob. I pushed my lips forward in a pout, reaching for his tie. “Don't look at me like that. The whole open marriage idea was initiated by my husband…” I tugged at his tie. “You see, my husband has a first love and even if the thought is already heartbreaking, he doesn't seem to stop talking about his love for her. He doesn't care about what I feel and he even dared to say it to my

The truth, raw and unadorned, spilled from William Jackson's lips. Cathleen's grasp tightened around her cup, its warmth a stark contrast to the chill that settled in her bones. Xavier Knight—cold, ruthless, dominant—was now her husband, a man who lived shrouded in shadows, his disdain for love as palpable as the ring on her finger. A marriage that was born not of passion or tenderness but of strategic retreats and familial chess moves.

But fate played a cruel trick, bringing his first love back on the same day. I looked at my reflection in the mirror—red-rimmed eyes and a pale complexion stared back at me. Well, Mallory was wrong about one thing. Though my marriage to Ashton had started as a business arrangement, over the course of these five years, I had grown to care for him. For the first two years of our marriage, we treated each other with politeness, maintaining a distance. Nothing intimate happened between us. I knew his heart still belonged to Mallory back then.

Everyone's mouths dropped open, eyes wide in shock. Some of the smart KOLs quickly zoomed in on the marriage certificate on the ground. "Hey, guys, here's the plot twist!" "Take a look, this is the real mistress!" As soon as she said that, she aimed the camera directly at Shannon's face. Shannon, still in shock, hadn't recovered yet and quickly raised her hands to block her face. "Stop filming me!" Other parents in the crowd started murmuring, "So we misunderstood?" "Who wouldn't? It's too outrageous! Who would abandon their wife and daughter in public, just to cozy up to the mistress and her son?"

The dress had cost me a month's salary, but next to Emma's elegant outfit, it might as well have been a potato sack. "I... I'm sorry," I whispered, fighting back tears. "Just go," he snapped, not even looking at me. "Emma and I will order first. Try to come back looking presentable." That was the first crack in my perfect marriage. "Sir," a young officer approached with case records. "I've checked the reports - no missing persons filed in the last few days." "A missing wife and the family didn't even notice?" another officer wondered aloud. "What kind of relationship did they have?"

“Was it an added bonus that I could get my revenge on the Bennetts? Yes. It was. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t love you. My feelings for you were real. They are real.” I shake my head slowly. “I’m sorry if I can’t believe you right now, Marcus.” My voice feels hollow. “Right now… it just feels like I married the first man all over again.” His face tightens. “My first marriage was fake,” I say. “And so is my second.” “Please don’t say that,” he says quickly. “Don’t put me on the same level as Ryan. I am nothing like Ryan.” “Right now,” I say quietly, “it feels like you are.”

Chapter 28: Handover 2 AURORA A finance genius whose light was dimmed because of the man she married , that was who I was. The mistake I made because I wanted to fill the void in my heart… because he appeared to be a good man… because my father said he was a perfect godson. But was he a perfect husband to me? The mistake I made was getting married to Bryan and staying even when he treated me like trash after my father died. I was paying for those mistakes, and he was somewhere , either dead or alive?