HE WAS NEVER MINE

Avery's Pov

I stayed frozen in the hallway long after they left the conservatory, my heart pounding so violently it hurt.

The kiss won't leave my head. 

His hands on her waist, pulling her against him like she was the only thing keeping him alive.  

I should go to my room, pretend like I didn't see anything, be the good wife who swallows pain.

My legs began to move on their own, following the sound of their footsteps going towards the stairs.

I kept to the shadows, my pulse racing.

Laughter and whispers echoed, his voice lower than I ever heard it. 

They went towards the master bedroom, his room... the same one I was never allowed to step foot in.

I stood in the hallway for a moment, trying not to imagine what would possibly happen there. 

I walked toward the door when I heard moans. The bedroom door hadn't closed completely.

I crept inside, barely breathing as I looked through the gap.

Celeste pressed him against the wall, kissing him as if she'd been starving for him.

His hands slid into her hair as he pulled her closer, a low groan escaping him into the kiss.

"Fuck, I've missed you Nate." She whispered between the kiss, unbuttoning his shirt. "God, Nate I missed this."

"Celeste..."

He breathed her name like a prayer as his trembling hands found the zipper of her dress.

They stumbled towards the bed, her red dress pooled on the floor beside his jacket. 

Her hands in his dark hair, body pressed together like they couldn't get enough of each other.

My body went completely still. My lungs forgot how to work, and my feet refused to move.

He laid her on the bed, the same bed l'd never touch and kissed her neck down while she arched to him.

"Nate..." she moaned, arching into him.

A rough sound escaped him, one I'd never heard before, raw and hungry.

Everything inside me went cold.

They kissed again, slower this time, and his hand slid higher along her thigh.

I must have made a sound, gasped because his head jerked up. 

Our eyes locked across the room. For a few seconds, the room fell completely silent.

Her lipstick was smeared across his mouth, his hands were still on her body.

Then his face burned with anger.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He exploded off the bed, grabbing his shirt. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." 

"You're spying on me now?" He rushed toward me. "In my own house?"

"Your house?" My voice trembled. "I'm your wife, Nate!"

"Really?" He grabbed my arm, fingers digging into my skin.

"Nate, let her go." Celeste said, wrapping the sheet around herself.

But he didn't let go. He dragged me out of his room, into the hallway, his grip bruising.

"You had no right to be there," he hissed, finally releasing my arm.

"No right?" I jerked my arm free. "You brought another woman into our home! Into our bed!"

"My bed." He corrected, his voice cold enough to freeze the hair between us. "You've never been in that room, you've never touched that bed, you've never been my wife in any way that matters."

"We're married!" 

"On paper." He spat out. "That's all you've ever been. A signature, a name I had to say in front of cameras."

"I've been your wife for fourteen months!" Tears burned my eyes. "I've done everything right! Everything you wanted!"

"You've done what you were paid to do and you will be paid for." He stepped closer. "You played a role. That's it.

"I thought..."

"What?" He laughed coldly. "That I would fall in love with you?" 

"That if you smiled enough, cooked my favorite meals, wore the right dresses, I'd suddenly want you?"

Each word carved deeper than the last.

"I tried..."

"You tried to be someone you're not." He cut me off. "You tried to make me forget her but you could never be compared to Celeste."

"You could never be what she is to me, get that!"

I looked into his eyes and saw nothing. No guilt or regrets, just irritation that I was still standing there.

He looked at me for a long moment.

"You know what?" He finally spoke.

"I think it's time we get divorced."

My world tilted. "What?"

"You heard me." He crossed his arms. "It's long overdue."

"The contract we signed ended two months ago. This should have been over then."

"You're...you...not serious about this, are you?" 

My heart cracked open. Cold spread through my body until I couldn't feel my hands.

"I am completely serious about it." His eyes drifted toward the bedroom behind him, where Celeste was waiting. "I'll call my lawyer in the morning."

"When the papers are ready, I'll let you know. Until then, stay out of my way, stay clear from my sight!"

"That's it?" 

My hands shook beside me. "Fourteen months and that's it?"

"What did you expect?" He asked. "Tears? An apology? You knew what this was from the beginning."

"I thought maybe..."

"You thought wrong." He walked past me as though I wasn't even there. "Don't come near my room again. 

"Don't speak to me unless I speak to you first. And for God's sake, don't make a scene. I'll let you know when it's time to sign."

He walked away, back toward his bedroom, back to her.

I stood frozen in the hallway, tears spilling silently down my face.

A second later, I heard the bedroom door close... then the lock clicked into place.

Then she laughed, soft, quiet and victorious.

I staggered into my room, closed the door, and slid to the floor.

The sobs tore out of me, raw and violent. 

I pressed my hand over my mouth, trying to keep the sound in, but nothing could stop them.

Months of trying, all of it for nothing.

Then I heard Celeste laugh softly... A second later, her moan echoed through the wall.

I closed my eyes and cried harder.