His Secret Wife Five Wasted Years

The Club Manager images from that video replayed in my mind: the multimillion-dollar mansion, the trophy encrusted with gold and diamonds, and Edmund cooking for someone else.

I couldn't name what I was feeling.

"God, you're so loud! Do you even know what time it is? Why haven't you left yet?"

My seven-year-old stepson, Felix Mason, emerged from his bedroom, rolling his eyes like a jaded little adult.

"Dad works himself to the bone to support this family, and all you do is sit around being lazy and bothering him."

"Your cooking is terrible, you're broke and ugly, and all you ever do is embarrass me. You're nothing compared to—"

He stopped himself.

For five years, I had raised that boy as my own.

I didn't know when it started, but somewhere along the way, Felix had come to despise me. I'd always assumed he was grieving his late mother. But in that moment, something in his unfinished sentence caught my attention.

"Compared to who?"

He refused to answer. He just spat, "None of your damn business," and slammed his bedroom door shut.

I was going to be late. I reminded him through the door to lock up and go to bed early, then hurried out.

By the time I finished scrubbing the vomit from the last private room, daylight was flooding in through the windows.

My back ached so badly I could barely stand straight. I was about to collect my pay and clock out.

The club manager slammed his palm on the desk and barked at me.

"I just did an inspection. Your cleaning last night was completely unacceptable. And you have the nerve to ask for money?"

"Go back and redo every single room. Otherwise, you're not getting a cent."

I stood there, stunned. I had cleaned every room twice, making sure each one was spotless before moving on to the next.

I couldn't let a whole night's work go to waste. But I also needed to get home to make Felix breakfast and take him to school.

I sent Edmund a message on WhatsApp.

This time, he replied almost immediately.

"Don't worry about it. I'll take him. You've been working hard, Louisa."

Halfway through re-cleaning, I went to the restroom to rinse out a rag. That was when I heard the manager's voice coming from the men's room next door. He was on the phone.

"Mr. Mason, don't you worry. By the time she's done re-cleaning every room, it'll take her hours."

"I guarantee Miss Pruitt will get to sleep in as long as she wants. She won't be disturbed."

"Heh, it's the least I can do. Can't just pocket your three hundred grand for nothing."

I leaned against the cold wall. My knees trembled with pain.

But that pain was nothing compared to hearing Edmund's voice on the other end say, "Good work."

My hands moved on instinct. I pulled out my phone and opened the home surveillance feed.

The girl from last night's video walked out of our bedroom in a silk camisole.

The hickeys on her neck were impossible to miss.

She draped her arms around Edmund's neck, her voice syrupy and coy.

"Did you drop Felix off at school?"

"Baby, since nobody's home, can we go another round?"

"Cut it out. Get some more sleep first, then I'll take you back. If Louisa finds out, she'll make a scene."

Edmund said no, but he didn't push her away.

The girl curled her lip in contempt.

"So what? That washed-up frump is nothing but a free nanny you brought in to take care of Felix for my sister. The marriage certificate isn't even real."

"I'm not your little sister-in-law anymore, you know. I'm your legally recognized wife." She poked his chest playfully. "So when are you going to get rid of her? I want to live with you out in the open."

Edmund paused. Then he reached over and gently stroked her hair.

"Taking care of a kid is exhausting. Louisa grew up rough, so she's better suited for that kind of thing."

"All you need to do is exactly what you're doing now: enjoy yourself, and be my carefree little princess."

A roar filled my skull. The phone shook violently in my grip.

Staring at the girl's familiar face, it finally clicked.

Edmund's first wife, the one who died in a car accident. This was her younger sister.

Audrey Pruitt.