Unwanted Visitor
1320 Words
CHAPTER 3
I was in the garden when she arrived.
The garden was my favorite place in the whole estate. It was the only place that felt like mine. Patricia and her daughters never came here. Richard never came here. It was just me and the flowers and the quiet.
I was watering the roses when I heard the car pull up. I did not think much of it at first. Patricia had friends who visited all the time.
But then I heard the voice.
"Where is she?"
Victoria.
My hands froze on the watering can. I set it down slowly and turned around.
She was walking toward me, her high heels clicking against the stone path. She wore a white dress that probably cost more than everything in my closet combined. Her long dark hair flowed perfectly over her shoulders. She looked like she had just stepped out of a magazine.
And she looked furious.
"Grace," she said, stopping a few feet away from me.
"Victoria." I kept my voice calm. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? What are you doing? What kind of game are you playing?"
"I'm not playing any games."
"Really?" She crossed her arms. "Then explain to me why Richard suddenly postponed our wedding plans. Explain to me why he said he needs three months before we can get married."
"He didn't tell you?"
"He told me you made some ridiculous request. That you wanted to play wife for three months before the divorce."
"It's not ridiculous to me."
Victoria laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You really think three months will make him fall in love with you? You really think you can compete with what we have?"
"I'm not trying to compete with anyone."
"Then why are you doing this?"
"Because I'm still his wife," I said quietly. "I know I won't be for much longer. But right now, I am. And I just want to be treated like it. That's all."
"That's all?" She stepped closer. "Do you know how long Richard and I have been waiting? Do you know how hard it's been for us?"
"I didn't ask for this marriage either, Victoria. I didn't want it."
"But you took it anyway. You took him away from me."
"I didn't take anyone. Emmanuel arranged this. Richard agreed because he wanted my father's patent. Not because he wanted me."
She stared at me, her eyes full of anger. "You're pathetic. You know that? Begging for scraps of attention from a man who will never love you."
The words hurt, but I did not let it show. I had heard worse from Patricia and her daughters.
"Maybe I am pathetic," I said. "But in three months, I'll be gone. And you'll have him all to yourself. Can't you wait that long?"
"I've already waited two years."
"Then three more months shouldn't matter."
Victoria's hand shot out and grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin. "Listen to me carefully. Richard is mine. He's always been mine. You are nothing to him. Nothing. And when these three months are over, I'll make sure you disappear completely from his life. Do you understand me?"
I pulled my arm away. "Let go of me."
"Do you understand me?"
"Yes. Now leave."
She smiled, cold and cruel. "With pleasure. But remember what I said, Grace. You are nothing."
She turned and walked away, her heels clicking loudly on the path. I stood there, my arm stinging where her nails had dug in. I looked down and saw small red marks on my skin.
I sat down on the garden bench and took a deep breath. My hands were shaking again.
Victoria was right about one thing. I was nothing to Richard. I had always been nothing to him.
But for three months, I was going to pretend that was not true.
I was going to pretend I mattered.
Even if it was all a lie.
I went back to watering the roses, trying to forget the look in Victoria's eyes. The hatred. The possessiveness.
She really loved him. I could see that. And he loved her.
So where did that leave me?
Nowhere.
But I had made my choice. I had asked for these three months, and I was going to make the most of them.
No matter what Victoria said.
No matter what anyone says.
I finished in the garden and went inside. The house was still quiet. Patricia and her daughters must have gone out.
I went to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. Richard had not said he would eat at home tonight, but I wanted to be ready just in case.
I was chopping vegetables when Judith walked in.
"Making dinner for your husband?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
I did not answer. I kept chopping.
"You know he's probably with Victoria right now, don't you?"
"I know."
"Then why bother?"
I set down the knife and looked at her. "Because I'm his wife."
She laughed. "On paper, maybe. But we all know the truth. You're just a temporary problem. And soon you'll be gone."
"Yes. Soon I'll be gone. Until then, I'd appreciate it if you stayed out of my way."
Her eyes widened. I had never talked back to her before. Never stood up for myself.
"How dare you..."
"I'm done being silent," I said, surprised by the strength in my own voice. "For two years, I've let you and your sister and your mother treat me like I don't exist. But I do exist. And for the next three months, I'm going to act like it."
Judith's face turned red. "My brother will hear about this."
"Good. Tell him."
She stormed out, and I went back to chopping vegetables.
My heart was pounding, but I felt... good. For the first time in two years, I had stood up for myself.
It felt incredible.
I finished making dinner and set the table. Seven o'clock came and went. Richard did not come home.
Eight o'clock. Still nothing.
At nine thirty, I heard the front door open.
Richard walked into the dining room and stopped when he saw me sitting there, alone, with a full dinner spread out on the table.
"You waited," he said.
"You didn't say you would not be home for dinner."
He looked tired. "I should have called."
"Yes. You should have."
He sat down across from me. "I'm sorry."
Those two words surprised me more than anything. Richard never apologized.
"It's okay," I said quietly.
We ate in silence. I could tell something was bothering him, but I did not ask. I had learned not to push.
When we finished, he helped me clear the table. Another first.
"Grace," he said as we walked to the kitchen.
"Yes?"
"Victoria came to see you today."
So she told him. Of course she had.
"Yes."
"What did she say to you?"
I set the dishes in the sink. "Nothing I didn't already know."
"She had no right to come here and..."
"It's fine, Richard. She loves you. She's angry that I'm in the way. I understand."
He stepped closer. "Did she hurt you?"
I touched my arm where Victoria's nails had left marks. "I'm fine."
His eyes followed my hand. "Let me see."
"It's nothing."
"Grace. Let me see."
I rolled up my sleeve. The marks were faint now, but still visible.
Richard's jaw tightened. "I'll talk to her."
"Don't. It will only make things worse."
"She can't treat you like this."
"Why do you care?" The question came out before I could stop it. "You don't want me here any more than she does."
He looked at me, and for a moment, I saw something in his eyes I could not read.
"You're still my wife," he said quietly. "And no one gets to hurt you. Not even Victoria.”
- Writer
