The Wife He Regrets Losing

Emma's POV "Babe, you touch me in a way no one has. You are the best man I have ever met." That was what I heard as I headed to my husband's study, a room he usually keeps locked and private. I was stunned, it was a woman's, who could it be?. Is my husband cheating on me? I reached the door, and I heard a loud moan. "Ahhh, i love this baby, fuck me harder," the woman said. My hand trembled as it approached the door handle, my heart was racing. I opened the door slightly, I couldn't believe what my eyes saw. My husband was on top of a woman. They were clearly lost in what seemed like the best moment of their lives. The coffee in my hand slipped and shattered on the floor, but the sound of the mug breaking didn't disrupt them. I looked at them once more and they were still entangled, now in a different position. Before I could speak, my mother in law shouted, "What are you doing there?". I wanted to respond but my lips couldn't move. She rushed towards the door and immediately shut it. "They are busy handling a work project", she said. "Don't disturb them." I couldn't believe her. They are definitely not working on a project, they are working on each other's body. "But Mum it doesn't look like they are wor....", before I could finish she cut me off. "You don't have anything to say here, go downstairs and prepare dinner. It's getting late and you know we have a visitor. Something inside me broke. Why would my mother in-law treat me this way after everything I have done for this family?. I sacrificed my life, my career just to be with the man I love and his family. I went to my room and cried bitterly. My husband has never made me feel like a woman the way he is doing to another woman. Has he ever loved me?. ****" While I was making dinner, my husband and his woman came downstairs. Lo and behold the lady was Cassy, his childhood sweetheart. They walked down the stairs hand in hand, laughing softly, and as they reached the bottom, I noticed something that froze me in place, love bites on Cassy's neck. A trail of small, red marks leading up to her jawline. My stomach churned as I realized just how careless they were. I kept my head down, stirring the pot, trying to swallow the bile rising in my throat. My mother-in-law smiled at them and then, almost too quietly, she whispered, "Looks like you two really had a nice time together." I caught the words, though spoken softly, and they sank into me like a dagger. They didn't flinch; they just smiled at each other as if the world was still perfect. I forced a smile as I turned the oven dial, but inside, I was unraveling. I didn't respond. Instead, I kept chopping the vegetables,each slice a small attempt to ground myself in reality. How long has this been going on? I asked myself. Why had they kept it hidden so well? I thought back to all the times I had defended him, all the times I had trusted his words, and I felt sick. Then I heard Cassy say, "I'm so glad you invited me back here Alex. It feels like nothing has changed." She said it softly, almost intimately, her fingers resting lightly on his arm. My husband, Alex, smiled at her, not the polite smile he gives strangers, but the one I used to think belonged to me. "Thank you for coming," Mrs. Christine, my mother in-law added warmly, her voice filled with approval. I stood there, suddenly feeling like the only thing that didn't belong in that room. After dinner, and once the dishes were washed, I stood up, ready to head to my room, desperate for some space. But before I could take a step, my husband called me back. He asked, "Where are you going?" I told him I was just going to my room to rest, but he stopped me and said, "You should pack your things and move to the guest room. Cassy will be staying in our room for the next few days." I wanted to protest, to question him, but before I could say anything, my mother-in-law cut in, her voice sharp and commanding. She called the maid to help me gather my things, and without a word, I moved to the guest room, each step heavier than the last. It turns out that Cassy is the heiress to the Hawthorne family company, and had just returned from the States. She had left when she and Daniel were still in high school. As I lay in the unfamiliar bed that night, I heard their laughter, the clinking of glasses, and the closeness I no longer felt. What was wrong? What had I done to deserve this isolation?