I'm not a Third Wheel anymore

His eyes turned dark. It was obvious he didn't like my remark. He turned to me and said, “Is it necessary to be sarcastic everytime? Didn't my Mom clear it to you that Emily and I are just friends? You know I don't like your over possessive attitude. You always make me lose face in front of my friends.”

“Do I?” I narrowed my eyes, “You blame me for everything. Do you ever notice what your friends talk about me? Your friend was addressing you as Emily's husband. Was that right?”

“They always do this, shipping you with her and making me feel like a third wheel.”

He sighed defeatedly and said in a tone which looked like he was admitting defeat just to avoid the argument, “I’m sorry on behalf of my friends. But, they were only kidding. You shouldn't take them seriously. Don't be jealous of Emily. It will impact your child. You don't want him to born as a jealous kid, do you?”

He then pulled me in a casual hug, placed a soft kiss on my cheeks and went to bed, saying, “Don't overthink. Just sleep.”

I remained still in my place. His words ‘It will impact your child’ continued echoing in my mind. I just realized I hadn't told him about my miscarriage. He didn't notice it either. Was my four months baby bump too little that he didn't even notice it when it was suddenly gone?

I swallowed the rage I had been feeling since the last day and went to bed. I maintained a certain distance from Ryan and curled myself on the edge of the bed. Just then my phone beeped with a notification. Someone had mentioned me in a post. It was Emily who did this. She had posted a picture in which she and Ryan were kissing Ned on his cheeks from both the sides. All three of them had dyed their cheeks with colors and were looking cute together. It was the same picture that Ryan used as his phone’s wallpaper. At least he had the decency of cropping her out of the picture before applying it on his phone’s wallpaper.

There was also a caption on Emily’s post that read. [The guardian angel for me and my son. He loves Ned so much that he let him paint his whole face despite having an allergy to chemicals.]

I smiled ironically and typed a comment [Such a cute family]. I placed a heart emoji along with my comment and liked her post. The post was then immediately deleted.

A few days passed by. I was busy in my work while Ryan late night parties with clients and over time on their new project remained constant. He didn't have time for me but Emily continued posting their pictures of hanging out together. When I asked him about those pictures in which he seemed quite relaxed with his friends and Emily, chilling out together. He would reply it was just a small break between their long working hours.

Day by day, his arrival time got delayed. There were also a few days when he didn't come home the whole night. If I asked him about it, he would only make excuses of overwork. Slowly, I stopped asking questions.

One day I was picking his coat for laundry and I found a receipt in his pocket. A hotel bill, dated last night. Emily’s name was printed on it along with Ryan.

I had seen his friends coupling them together. I disliked Ryan for never stopping it and continuing to give his childhood sweetheart more importance than me. However, I had never caught him cheating on me. At least, he had maintained the decency of our marriage. However, seeing that receipt my world crumbled.

“Ryan, Can I talk to you?” I asked with trembling lips.