The Week He Pretended To Be The Husband

Just as dawn broke, I smelled the crisp scent of cedar and snow.

It was as clean as the wind on a winter morning.

I kept my eyes closed and tried hard to calm my heart. It was almost leaping out of my throat.

Then, I heard someone come in. He sat quietly by the bed.

A very long time passed—so long that I wanted to open my eyes.

Then, I heard him take a breath. He gently patted my arm.

He said tenderly, “Honey, time to get up.”

I rubbed my eyes. I pretended to be groggy as I opened them.

The moment I did, I found myself looking into a pair of beautiful eyes.

He took my hand and led me to the closet. He asked me which outfit I wanted to wear.

Once I changed my clothes, he took my hand again and led me downstairs for breakfast.

“I had the chef make a bunch of different options for breakfast. Just pick whatever you like.”

His movements were natural and smooth. His acting was so flawless that I could find no fault with it.

What he did not know was that Matteo had never treated me this way.

He had never woken me up. Even when I had work in the morning, he would only tell me to set a few extra alarms.

Matteo never asked me what I wanted to wear or held my hand to go to breakfast. He never quietly paid attention to which dishes I liked.

It turned out Matteo was a bad husband.

I used to think that the way Matteo and I lived was how normal couples got along.

In the evening, Nicola came to pick me up from work.

He wore a dark gray suit. His tie hung loosely beneath his collar.

When he saw me come out, he opened his arms toward me and smiled.

My colleagues who were passing by saw Nicola and whispered among themselves, “Oh my God, Lina’s husband is so handsome! No wonder he keeps himself hidden away.”

The night was beautiful. I ran straight into his arms.

His arms tightened behind my back. His chin rested gently on top of my head. I could feel his powerful and steady heartbeat.

I closed my eyes and buried my face in his chest.

Matteo was the stupid one.

Only an idiot would fail to tell the difference between them.

He gently took my hand, and smiled. He tilted his head and said in a deep, gentle voice, “Honey, guess what’s for dinner tonight?”

I quickly figured it out when I noticed that he had not taken the car. Still, I put on a curious expression and asked, “Hmm... Is it the T-bone steak from my favorite restaurant?”

He raised an eyebrow, reached out his hand, and pinched my cheek. His thumb stayed there for another couple of seconds before he pulled his hand back.

“You’re so smart. You got it in one try.”

We chatted and laughed together in the twilight. However, in my mind, I had already started thinking about what to do in seven days.

After all, I had already become addicted to being with Nicola. I did not want to be apart from him at all.

He intertwined his fingers with mine. I felt a ring on his ring finger.

I lifted his hand and casually looked at it. Sure enough, it was the same forgotten wedding ring that Matteo had tossed into a drawer.

Nicola was wearing it conspicuously on his ring finger.

I turned to look at him. I could not help but want to get even closer to him.

He noticed my gaze and reached out to ruffle my hair.

“What is it, honey?”

I held his hand tightly.

“You’re so handsome. I want to look at you like this every day.”

He brought his face closer and said with a smile, “Okay. I’ll let you look at me every day.”

His smile was my favorite thing in the world. All my worries disappeared in an instant.