The Wife He Left Behind

The Forgotten Key Isabel’s POV “Celeste!!!!” I shrieked Celeste stood on the other side of the door with a gift basket in her arms. I was genuinely happy to see my friends. My best friend since college. “Oh my goodness look at you... looking all beautiful and shiny” she shrieked, hugging me too. “Well....you can say life has been good.” I replied, leading her inside the mansion. The scent of roasted duck and aged wine drifted from the kitchen, delicate and promising but my friend and I didn't mind. We had a lot to catch up on. “hmmmmmn I guess Mr. Adrian has been doing a great job....” Celeste said, all smiles, but I didn't. In fact my smile disappeared. She didn't notice my mood swing. She just went on and on thanking me for helping her get a job with my husband while I thought about my husband. She stopped only when I gave no replies. “Back to earth Isabel. Did you even hear anything I just said?” “I did, dear. You're welcome. What are friends for?” I replied. Quickly plastering a fake smile on my face but Celeste saw right through me.. “Cut the crap dear what's wrong? You've not been yourself since your husband came up...” “That's because he's changed.” I snapped. Celeste's face formed a big O. “woah woah woah take a chill pill. Babe what's wrong.” “I'm so sorry” I said, already sobbing as she wrapped me in her arms. “It's just that our marriage has not been the same lately. He's been distant. He doesn't see me anymore” I replied, shoulders shaking. “I'm.....I'm so sorry I didn't know. God I never knew you were suffering. And it's been what? 8 years....?” “Nine.” I cut in. “Our anniversary is today. Nine years.” Celeste's face bent with pity. “It must have been hard....” she said, cleaning my tears with a tissue. “It has actually. But it wasn't always like that. There was a time when I was the only thing that mattered in this world. He'll come back from work stressed and tired but still want to hold me. I still crave for my warm embrace. Now things were different. He didn't even look at me. At night we both lay at the edge of the bed faced backwards like there was a secret war between us and that only happened on the few days he slept home. I've tried talking to him about it but.... He hasn't got time to listen either.” Celeste looked at me with pity but I could tell she was impatient. Almost like she had somewhere to be. She looked at her watch and panic struck her face. “Shoot, Isabel...I wish I could stay here and listen but I have somewhere urgent to be. So sorry dear but let's do this some other time. Please.....” “Nah it's fine.” I said sniffing. “Just be safe okay...” I shouted into space but she was already gone. Now it was just me and the sweet smelling roasted duck drifting from the kitchen in the giant and empty mansion. I had sent the house keeper and every other person who could interrupt my moment away. And now I waited. Out of habit my hands smoothed my silk dress as I walked to the already set table. It was a silk dress, emerald green—Adrian's favourite color. I turned instead to the hallway mirror and my reflection stared back at me. My curls framed my face in soft waves, lips styled in a muted berry. I looked... hopeful. Foolishly so. Tonight was supposed to be intimate. Just the two of us after weeks of late meetings, missed breakfasts, and ghost-like conversations. I planned a quiet dinner at home. No staff. No interruptions. Just Adrian and the woman he once loved—hoping, no praying he loves me still. After waiting by the dinner table for what seemed like an eternity, I finally stood up. Hours had passed, the candle burned out but Adrian wasn't back. I made my way to his study to retrieve my phone I left charging hours ago. My heels tapped softly on the marble as I approached the familiar oak door. The knob twisted. Locked. My brows furrowed. Adrian never locked his study. Not in all nine years of marriage. I knocked lightly. No answer. “Adrian?” I called softly. Still nothing. A whisper of unease crawled up my spine as I reached for the small silver key tucked in the side drawer of the console table nearby—the emergency one. But it was gone. Odd. My fingers trembled slightly as I stepped back, turning to check the hallway behind me as if the missing key might magically appear or someone might explain the sudden tension pressing against my ribs. Still nothing. After searching frantically for several hours I grabbed my keys. My hands shook as I drove to that familiar building I'd gone to a thousand times. High buildings are all covered in glass. I walked in like I owned the place. Few people were greeted like the security guard by the door, the people in the elevator and finally his assistant. But something felt off about her greeting. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and forced a very fake smile but I didn't mind. Not when the feeling of dread was slowly crawling its way up my chest. “The...the boss is busy ma'am. He said "no distractions.” She muttered. I smiled sweetly towards her. “Don't worry my dear. I can handle it.” but she didn't look convinced. And I didn't stay to convince her. My cat walked towards my husband's office even though my legs were shaking but what I heard just before I turned the door knob was something I wasn't expecting in my entire life. A soft laugh. Muffled, but unmistakable. A woman’s. My pulse slowed, then sped. More sounds followed—the low murmur of voices. Adrian’s voice. Then that laugh again. “She must've been expecting you for a while now. She prepared a little something for you. I could smell it.” I took a careful step back, in shock but moved closer to hear more. Then came the other voice. “I don't care about her. I'd rather spend my anniversary with you.” My heart stopped. That was Adrian.... and the other woman was... I refused to believe it. I opened the door and that was when I saw it. I saw her. Celeste. My best friend, my l bridesmaid. The one who begged me to get her a job with my husband. Her blouse was half-tucked, her hair slightly tousled, and there she was sitting on my husband's lap in a very compromising position. Our eyes locked but I didn't move. I couldn't. My whole being froze as I was faced with this bitter betrayal. Celeste didn’t look guilty, she didn’t look surprised. Instead, she gave a small, tight-lipped smile and said, “You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that.” My mouth opened but no words came out. My hands hung at my sides, limp cold and twitching. It felt like the lungs had been sucked out of my lungs, leaving only the thudding sound of my heart and the dull roar of something breaking apart inside me. I watched as Celeste breezed past me with a calm poise that didn't match the situation. Like she hasn't just slept with her best friend husband of nine years. Her perfume lingered in the air as she left—floral and sharp, the kind Adrian liked. And that explained it. Why he would come back from work with lipstick stains all over his collar, why he always smelled like another woman. It all clicked now. I was too slow to make sense of the situation. Thought it was just a coincidence or he stayed out late due to heavy workload. I never knew it was my best friend. I should have known. She suddenly never had time for me anymore, she was always impatient and running off to somewhere claiming “Work.” Adrian didn’t move. He didn't care that I just caught him. He gently closed his laptop and walked past me. Legs frozen, eyes pinned to the now empty office, every instinct in me screamed to run, to race after them and demand an explanation but my body wouldn’t move. Instead, my gaze dropped to the doorframe Adrian had just passed through. A smudge of lipstick marred the edge—berry red Celeste's color. I turned slowly, gripping the hallway wall for balance, and took one trembling step backward. By the time I got home, dinner was still waiting, the candles had died out but everything felt different. It all felt different and strange.... like the past six months of my life have been a lie. That was when I realized that something had already changed.