Love Doesn't Live Here, It's Just Lies

I was heading to my husband Alan's office, clutching the early scan photo I had just gotten from the hospital, and also two tickets to the favorite match he had been talking about for weeks.

I had spent the drive rehearsing how I'd surprise him. I would show him the scan and the tickets right now, or maybe I would just tell him over dinner, but everything changed when I reached his office door. I was about to knock when I heard voices inside

"Elisa doesn't need to know, Henry," Alan said. "It's fine. It's handled."

I was so curious to know what they were talking about. Henry's next words made my heart skip a tiny beat. "You've been spending on Alyssa for months, Alan. Flights, hotels, the yacht trip, you've been lying to Elisa this whole time. What do you think she'll do if she finds out?"

The world stopped spinning, and I couldn't breathe well

Alyssa. The model. The one whose face was always on billboards and magazine covers, He had been hiding her, I pressed myself against the door, my heart hammering in my chest

"I did what I wanted to do," Alan said coldly. "Alyssa makes me happy. Elisa doesn't need to know that."

"So you've just been lying to your wife?" George demanded

"I married Elisa, didn't I?" Alan said, his tone devoid of guilt. "Isn't that enough? I gave her a life and I gave her everything she needed."

"You've spent years lying to her, Alan. Years pretending to be the perfect husband, she loves you!"

"Elisa means nothing to me," Alan said flatly. "I've paid her back by giving her a good life. I've done my duty. But if Elisa ever finds out, then so be it. I'll remove her from my life if I have to. As long as Alyssa is happy, nothing else matters."

The scan photo slipped from my fingers and hit the floor, He treated me like a queen, doting on me, caring for me, giving me everything I thought I needed

I believed he loved me, that he chose me until today, I picked up the scan photo, turned, and dropped the match tickets into the bin beside the door and then I ran.

The hallway blurred as tears streamed down my face. My chest felt tight, like I couldn't get enough air, I didn't stop until I was in my car, gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white

I started driving, but I couldn't see through the tears. My mind replayed every word, every lie. Alyssa was who he wanted. She had always been who he wanted. And I had spent five years being the wife he settled for while he gave his heart to someone else, and I was carrying his child

I hit the brakes too late. The impact jolted me forward, and everything went black

***

When I woke, the sharp scent of antiseptic filled my nose. My head throbbed, and every inch of my body ache, I blinked against the harsh hospital lights, and then I saw him.

"Elisa," Alan said, his voice breaking. He was sitting by my bed, his hand gripping mine tightly. His eyes were red, his face pale. "Thank God. Thank God you're awake."

"What happened?" he asked, his voice trembling. "Why were you driving like that? You could've died."

I stared at him, my mind reeling. He kissed my hand, then my forehead, his tears fell freely. "Don't ever scare me like that again. I can't lose you."

He looked at me like I was his whole world. He played the part so well, I watched him with fuming anger. The way his hands wouldn't let go of mine and the way his voice kept breaking at just the right moments. The way his eyes stayed red and wet, like a man who had genuinely been terrified.

He was so good at this. It was what hurt me the most. Not just that he had lied, but how easily he could sit here and perform love, right after I had heard with my own ears that I meant nothing to him. His tears were real and his hands were shaking profusely, but none of it meant anything

He reached up and brushed the hair from my face. His thumb traced my cheek so gently. "I was so scared, Elisa," he whispered. "When they called me, I drove here so fast. I couldn't think. I just needed to see you."

I forced a smile. "I'm fine," I said softly.

He nodded with relief. He leaned down and kissed me again, whispering how much he loved me, how much I meant to him, how nothing in the world mattered more than me

Every word landed like a performance I had already seen the script for, I let him believe I hadn't heard the truth. I let him believe I was still the naive, trusting wife he had married.

But deep down, I was already planning.

A little while later, his phone rang. He squeezed my hand, murmured an apology, and stepped out into the corridor to answer it.

The hospital wall was so thin that I could hear his words clearly.

"Hey, you," he said. His voice was nothing like how he had just spoken with me.

"I miss you. Can I come over tomorrow?"

A short laugh. Then a woman spoke, her voice distinctively feminine,

"I can't wait to have you. Just come."