My Husband Was Never Hers

Three years into an arranged marriage, and I have been taking the pill behind my husband's back the whole time. Tonight I got one out like always.

And a line of live chat scrolled past in front of me. Nobody else can see it. Only me. He still thinks something's wrong with him.

He's been taking things for it, trying to get her pregnant. Once the female lead has triplets he's going to find out you've been lying to him this entire time.

The chat says he's going to divorce me. The chat says I'm going to fall apart over it. I looked down at the pill in my palm. Three years. One a day, always the same prescription.

It was the first time it ever felt hot to hold. Chapter 1 I froze, and the pill hit the floor with a click. At the same second there was another click behind me.

Rhys, in clean clothes, coming out of the bathroom. "Something came up. I'm heading in." He did up the last button, hung his jacket over his arm, and produced a reason to leave.

He always does. He has never once stayed the night. But this time I stopped him. "Wait." The footsteps stopped.

Rhys turned around. "Could you not go?" I pulled the blanket up against me and pressed my lips together. "I want to do it again." Rhys stopped.

And the next second the chat detonated. Before I married Rhys I didn't know much about him. Only the pieces other people had told me. That he hated business.

That he'd planned to do research for the rest of his life. That the family couldn't hold it together, so he came back and took the whole thing on his shoulders.

That he was cold, that he'd never been with anyone, and that in high school there had been exactly one girl he'd wanted and never said a word to. Nothing else in his history.

Not one thing. My friends said he was saving himself for a first love. I didn't care. I'd just come out of something and I was finished with love as a concept.

You don't sit around expecting affection from a husband your families picked. Our wedding night, I put it on the table. "I know you're in this because you had to be. So am I.

Going forward, I'd like us to stay out of each other's way. Give each other room." Rhys had no objection at all.

He just nodded. "Good doing business with you." Married life turned out exactly the way I wanted it.

We ran our own lives, we were polite and far apart, and unless something needed handling we did not contact each other. But to keep the marriage functional, we made an arrangement.

Once every two weeks. I'm lowmaintenance about it. Once every two weeks was plenty. As for Rhys. He's a workaholic and disciplined about everything else in his life.

I assumed it suited him fine. Overall I was satisfied with the arrangement. Right up until I saw those lines of text.

WHAT? who talks like that? has the side character lost her mind????? what the hell is this dumbass doing?

Don't tell me she's figured out the male lead is worth something and she's having regrets AND tonight is the big reunion beat for the leads! She's got him locked in there!

What about the female lead? relax, relax. He only sleeps with her out of obligation, he's not actually into her.

There is no way he says yes. "I want to do it again." My eyes went across that text and I said it a second time. Rhys's face went blank for a second.

And I looked at him and I very badly wanted to know one thing. The chat says this man won't say yes. So let's find out. Chapter 2 "Nadia Ferris?" His brows came together.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and reached over to feel my forehead. "What's wrong?

Is the AC too—" The next second I had his tie in my hand and pulled him down in front of me. "I'm not sick. I don't want you to go.

Is that a problem?" I held his eyes like a woman spoiling for something. Neither of us looked away. Rhys's throat moved.

His voice came out dry. "You're sure?" "Of course." "You said it. Not me." I had assumed Rhys would be reluctant about the whole thing.

Instead it was him, over and over, until it got light out. The man is an animal. When I woke up, he'd already left for the office. There was milk and bread on the table.

I have no idea when he bought it. I stretched and went to wash my face. In the mirror, I saw circles under my eyes for the first time in my life. My mouth was swollen.

My neck was a disaster. Rhys probably wasn't in much better shape. He is careful about how he looks. Even at the worst point of his life he never let a hair sit wrong.

Walking into that office today with a face like that. I'd love to know what people made of it. My mood improved considerably. So he's somebody else's male lead. So what.

At least I got mine. A message came up on my phone. Bex was back in the country and wanted to see me. I answered, splashed some water on my face, and went out. "Nay!

I saw somebody at the airport today who looked exactly like Tate!" Bex pushed a bag of something from the trip into my hands, delighted with herself.

Something in me went out for a second. I hadn't heard that name in a very long time. Three years. It's like something I dreamed. "It wasn't him. He'd never come back." "True.

Man's out there trying to save every animal in Africa. He's not coming home." Then Bex clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh.

Was I not supposed to say that name?" I laughed. "It's fine. It's over." "Good, good. I was honestly scared you were still stuck in it. Wait. What's going on with your neck?

Rhys did that?" I stopped, and my face went hot. "Yeah." "You two are that good now?" "It's all right, I guess…" I was embarrassed, so I changed the subject fast and got her looking at the menu.

The chat would not shut up. what is with the blushing act? Wasn't she the one begging him to stay last night? Twofaced. I'm so mad. Why did the male lead say yes??

He can't stand drama queens like her! nothing he could do. They're legally married, he can't exactly refuse her.

Once the female lead shows up, the other woman here is done. that's not fair though? She's a lot, but she's not "the other woman" how is she not?

Anybody who goes after the female lead's man is the other woman. And he has never loved her. Calling her the other woman is generous.

I did my best to ignore all of it and got angry anyway. Bex noticed something. "Nay?

What is it?" "Nothing." I shook my head. "I was just thinking about when to introduce you to my Rhys." so shameless!!! What do you mean YOUR Rhys?

He belongs to the female lead! side character DIE DIE DIE I looked over that wall of furious text. Then I narrowed my eyes and smiled at it. And I opened my mouth.

Chapter 3 "I had Rhys wrong. All the way wrong. I'm only now finding out how good he actually is. So I want to hold onto it properly." Bex's whole face lit up. "Really?

That's wonderful. Nay, I'm so happy you can let somebody in again. When?

Say a day." "Soon, I think." "Good!" She shoveled down a few excited bites and started working out the details with me.

We talked into the afternoon, until her parents called to hurry her along and she left, slowly and unwillingly. I was extremely pleased with myself.

I messaged my driver to come get me. Then a call came in. "Nadia, I was talking to HR just now. There's a new hire today. Very pretty, very capable.

Her name's… Celine." After the marriage I put a lot of my own people into that company. If anything moves, they tell me.

It didn't register right away. "What about her?" "Nadia, come on. Celine. Mr. Calloway's high school classmate. The one everybody was in love with." Oh. Her. Now I remembered.

The one girl who ever got to Rhys, and he never let himself bother her. Also known as… the female lead. I pressed my lips together. "That's all ancient history. It's fine.

She's pretty and she's good at her job. That's good for the company." "…Okay." She hesitated and then hung up.

The chat started gloating. hehehe the side character was just bragging to her friend, and while she was doing it the leads were having their beautiful reunion honestly good thing she held him up last night.

The female lead got to walk in today looking perfect. she is SO gorgeous. He's playing it cool but he has to be losing his mind obviously. She's the only person who ever got to him.

He's been going through the motions with a woman he doesn't love for three years and now he's standing in front of the one that got away. Do the math. I love a rekindle.

Forget the work talk. Shut the door and KISS HER. So they'd already met. I looked at all of it and took a breath. Fine. Good. Great. Rekindle it, is that right?

The only one who ever got to him, is that right? Rhys Calloway. You are not getting what you want. I set my teeth and called him. "Hello? What's wrong?" He picked up fast.

From the echo, he was in his office. A very soft voice in the background asked, "Rhys? Who is it?" I knew that was Celine. Something in me went up several degrees.

My voice went flat and hard. "Rhys. It's raining. Can you come get me?" He hesitated for half a beat. "I'm in a meeting. Can you—" "I'm hurt," I said. The line went silent.

Then Rhys, short and serious: "Send me the address. I'm on my way." I sent it and sat down in a coffee shop. He got there faster than I'd expected.

He came through the door with his breathing all over the place. "Where are you hurt?" he asked. I put my foot out. "Here." A scrape the size of a pea on my ankle. From new shoes.

Chapter 4 The chat started screaming at me. is the side character sick in the head? She dragged the male lead across town for THAT? Another hour and it'll have healed.

Would it kill her to stop going after the female lead's man? The leads finally reunite, the atmosphere is finally building, and she torpedoes it. Unbelievable.

I want to slap her twice. He came running. He thought something had happened to her. He is going to be furious. Oh? Furious?

I looked up at Rhys, waiting to see exactly how furious I could make him. Instead he went down on one knee, examined it, and frowned. "That's bad. How did this happen?

Does it hurt?" I had no idea what to do with that. Why does he… not seem angry? "It's — it's fine." "We'll take care of it properly. It shouldn't scar.

Let's get those shoes off first." He stood up and came back a few minutes later with a pair of slippers he'd gone out and bought. Full suit, and a pair of pink slippers in his hand.

The two things did not go together. "Slowly. Don't move around." He crouched down and put them on me like I was made of something breakable.

I stared at the top of his head and started to feel strange. I only did this to make his day worse. And now he's like this, and I look like a woman throwing a tantrum. "Um.

I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" "Hm? What?" He looked up. I said it guiltily. "You were in a meeting.

Was it a problem, me calling you out here?" He paused, and the corner of his mouth came up. "How could it be?

Nothing to do with you is an interruption." …That was uncomfortably close to something. I started to feel actively bad. "Are you going back to the office?" "No.

Everything's covered. I'm taking you to the hospital first." "What? We don't need the hospital.

It's a scratch—" "Behave." He didn't want me walking on it, so he carried me to the car.

The chat lost its mind. twofaced little snake, that much of a scratch and she has to be carried. Disgusting. honestly though, he's being really good to her.

I'm a little bit into it. into WHAT? your ship just sank. She knows the female lead is the canon couple and she's still shoving her face in there.

Is she okay? anybody shipping the side character is exactly like her. Our female lead is a grown woman with a spine.

What does a twofaced thing like this have that competes? …Right. I'm competing. Choke on it. I'd been sitting by the window.

After reading that, I moved myself over next to Rhys and lay down across his lap. His whole body went rigid. "Nadia—" "Don't move. I'm sleeping." I shut my eyes.

There was a trace of his cologne, and it was very good. "…All right." He hesitated, then put a hand lightly on my shoulder. "Oh," I said. "When I called you earlier, I heard a woman's voice.

Who was that?" The air stopped moving. Rhys paused, and his knuckles tightened. "Why are you asking about her