His Forgotten Bride

Chapter 12

It was almost midnight, yet Terrence still had not come home.

He had left earlier after losing his temper in the living room. The sound of his voice, sharp and full of anger, still echoed in my mind.

Terrence had always been a man with a short temper. I had seen him angry countless times before. I had seen him throw words like knives and look at people as if their lives meant nothing to him. But tonight was different.

Tonight, his anger felt heavier.

It was the first time he had acted that way in front of me, as if something inside him had snapped. And because of that, I could not stop myself from worrying.

For the countless time, I shifted on my bed. I turned to my side, then to my back again, staring blankly at the ceiling above me. A soft sigh escaped my lips as silence filled the room. The space beside me felt cold and empty.

I did not know if I could not sleep because I was worried about him, or because I had already grown too used to sleeping beside him.

For more than a month, Terrence had been sleeping in my room. We were not the perfect married couple. We were far from that. Most of the time, our conversations were short, awkward, and filled with words we were both too afraid to say. Still, having him beside me every night had somehow become familiar.

I wanted to convince myself that I only cared because I was his wife. That worrying about him was nothing more than a responsibility.

But deep inside, I knew that was not completely true.

Because the truth was, I had been happy.

Even if he was cold. Even if he rarely smiled. Even if he still carried that darkness around him wherever he went. I was happy whenever he stayed beside me. I was happy whenever he chose my room over anyone else’s.

A small, foolish thought crossed my mind.

Maybe he is trying to fix our marriage.

Maybe he simply did not know how to say it. Maybe a man like him did not know how to apologize, how to explain, or how to show that he cared. Maybe he was slowly learning. Maybe he just needed more time.

I closed my eyes and tried to hold on to that thought, but sleep still refused to come.

After a few more minutes, I finally gave up. I pushed the blanket aside and slowly sat up. My body felt tired, but my mind was too awake. Since I could no longer sleep, I decided to go down to the kitchen and drink some water.

The hallway was quiet as I walked. The house looked peaceful, but I knew better. In this house, silence never meant safety. It only meant that people were hiding their weapons well.

When I reached the kitchen, I opened the refrigerator and stared at its contents.

“Hmm… what else do we have here?” I whispered to myself.

While searching for something to eat or drink, my eyes caught the three men standing around the kitchen. They were pretending not to watch me, but I knew they were fully aware of every move I made. I could not help but shake my head.

They were acting as if a bullet could suddenly appear out of nowhere and hit me.

Do they even sleep? I wondered.

I ignored them and continued searching through the fridge. In the end, I found nothing that I wanted. My hand reached for the ice cube mold instead. I took one piece of ice and placed it inside my mouth.

The coldness made me shiver a little, but I liked it.

I did not know why, but I liked the feeling of chewing something cold. It distracted me. It gave my mouth something to do while my thoughts continued to run in circles.

“Hija?”

I quickly turned my head when I heard Manang’s surprised voice. She had just come out of the maid’s chamber, her brows slightly furrowed as she looked at me.

I smiled awkwardly and nodded at her. I could not answer because my mouth was full of ice.

“Why are you still awake?” she asked as she walked closer to me. “Are you hungry? You should have called us so we could cook something for you.”

I chewed the remaining ice first before answering. “I’m okay, Manang. I’m not hungry. I was just thirsty, so I came down. Please go back to sleep.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, her eyes moving to the ice cube mold in my hand. “Doesn’t that hurt your teeth?”

I gave her a small smile and took another piece of ice.

I tried to say, No, it doesn’t, but my words came out muffled because the ice was already in my mouth.

Manang lightly tapped my shoulder. “You really are such a child. If you feel hot, just take a bath instead. You might get tonsillitis from chewing too much ice.”

I immediately grimaced.

Just the thought of water running down my body made my chest tighten with discomfort.

I did not want to take a bath.

Not tonight.

Not when my mind was already full of things I could not control.

“All right,” Manang said after a while. “I’ll leave you here for now. I’ll go back to folding clothes. Go back to your room after that, okay?”

I nodded and smiled at her.

She turned away, and I was about to take another ice cube when I suddenly heard the sound of a car outside.

My heart skipped a beat.

Terrence.

I hurriedly returned the ice cube mold to the fridge and closed it. Without thinking twice, I started walking toward the living room. My steps were quick, almost excited. Despite the worry that had been eating me alive earlier, relief began to bloom inside my chest.

He was home.

He came back.

I was already near the living room when the front door opened.

But the moment I saw him, I froze.

Terrence entered the house with a woman beside him.

For a second, I could not breathe.

My eyes moved from his face to the woman beside him. She was standing too close. Too confident. Too comfortable. As if she already knew her place in this house.

“T-Terrence…” I stammered when my gaze met his.

He looked at me coldly.

There was no guilt in his eyes. No surprise. No softness.

“What?” he asked, his voice flat and uninterested.

My fingers trembled at my sides, but I forced myself to smile. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she was only someone he needed to talk to.

Maybe there was an explanation.

“W-Why are you with someone?” I asked carefully.

Terrence raised one eyebrow. “Why are you asking?”

His question hurt more than I expected.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Because… I am your wife,” I said weakly.

For a moment, silence fell between us.

Then Terrencelaughed.

It was not the kind of laugh that came from happiness. It was cruel, empty, and sharp enough to cut through whatever little hope I still had left. He wrapped his arm around the woman beside him and pulled her closer.

“You’re only my wife on paper, Alliyah,” he said. “That’s all you are.”

Something inside me broke.

Before I could stop myself, anger rushed through my body. I walked toward him and slapped him hard across the face. The sound echoed through the living room, and his face turned to the side from the force of it.

“How dare you?” I asked, my voice trembling. “What were all the things you showed me these past days? What was the way you treated me, Terrence? Was all of that nothing to you?”

Slowly, he turned his head back to me.

Then he smirked.

“Of course it was nothing,” he said. “It was all an act. I just wanted to get you into bed again, but it didn’t happen. So I got tired of it.”

I could not move.

His words entered my chest like bullets. One after another. Merciless. Cruel. Unforgiving.

For the past month, I thought I had seen something different in him. I thought the coldness in his eyes had slowly begun to melt. I thought the way he stayed beside me meant something.

But apparently, I was wrong.

Everything had only been a game to him.

“Let’s go,” Terrence said to the woman beside him.

Then they walked toward the stairs together.

The woman glanced at me before giving me a mocking smirk. She moved even closer to him, her face almost brushing against his neck as they went upstairs. But I did not look at her for long.

My attention stayed on Terrence.

I waited.

I waited for him to stop.

I waited for him to look back.

I waited for him to realize that he had hurt me too much and return to me. I waited for him to call my name, to explain, to tell me that everything he said was a lie.

But he did none of that.

He continued walking.

And then, they disappeared from my sight.

I remained standing in the middle of the living room, unable to move.

What happened?

A small laugh escaped my lips. It sounded broken. Empty. Almost unfamiliar.

I lifted my hand and touched my face. That was when I realized that tears were already gathering in my eyes. Slowly, they fell down my cheeks as I remembered Terrence’s lifeless gaze and the painful words he had thrown at me.

“Did I just wake up from my dream?” I whispered.

Because that was what it felt like.

For a month, I had been living inside a dream I did not want to end. A dream where Terrence was slowly becoming someone I could reach. A dream where our marriage had a chance.

But tonight, I woke up.

And reality was crueler than I remembered.

“Hija?”

Manang’s voice came from behind me.

I did not turn around. I could not. If I moved even a little, I felt like I would completely fall apart.

A few seconds later, she appeared in front of me. Her face softened the moment she saw my tears.

“What happened?” she asked gently. “Has your husband arrived?”

I tried to smile, but my lips trembled instead.

“Can I sleep beside you?” I asked in a small voice.

Manang looked at me for a moment before pulling me into her arms

.

“Did your husband bring another woman home again?” she whispered.

I nodded.

That was all I could do.

I buried my face against her shoulder and cried silently. I did not want to make a sound. I did not want anyone to hear how much it hurt.

But even if I tried to stop myself, my shoulders still shook.

“Shh,” Manang whispered while gently rubbing my back. “Stop crying now. Come on, let’s sleep.”

She carefully guided me toward their chamber. I let her lead me like a child who had lost all strength. When we entered the room, the other helpers were already asleep. Manang brought me to her bed and helped me lie down.

“Everything will be okay, Alliyah,” she said softly.

I tried to smile, but my tears fell first.

“I hope so,” I whispered, my voice breaking.

Manang sighed and gently stroked my hair. “Go to sleep now.”

I did not answer.

I simply closed my eyes and tried to push away the pain. I focused on the feeling of Manang’s hand running through my hair, hoping it would be enough to calm the ache inside my chest.

I hope… I hope I wake up from another dream.

But my last bit of hope died because that never happened.

Just like before, Terrence once again brought women into our home and slept with them. He never returned to my room. He no longer slept beside me. He no longer spoke to me unless it was necessary.

The Terrence I had been with for the past month was gone.

And once again, the ruthless mafia boss had returned.