HE LOVED THE WRONG ME

I have been living in loneliness for a year now. When people see how my daily life is, they would never believe that I've been married for a year to the man I fell in love with. When I was in my early teens, my parents created a big scene out of something my sister did and as if that wasn't enough, they blamed me for it. I ran out of the house in the middle of the night feeling broken and hurt, I was crying in the rain and it was Adrian, the stranger who comforted me and drove me home in his warm car. I didn't know who he was then but that was the first time someone showed me warmth without asking anything in return. I fell for him when I saw that he was the man my sister was supposed to marry. This is what led me to my current predicament. When you marry someone you love, you expect a fairytale. You expect him to always be there for you, to love and cherish you. Well, I think they forgot to put that in the description of my marriage because my husband loathes me. If there was a stronger word than loathing, I would have used that. We live under one roof but we barely see each other, He stays in the left wing of this massive mansion that belongs to him, while I stay in the right wing of the house. I remember one time, I confronted him about how he leaves the house for work before I wake up and how he makes sure he comes back late, when I'm asleep. He replied with 'this isn't real Lilian, I have nothing but coldness in my heart for you. And the faster you realise that, the better for both of us!'. That was the last time we spoke to each other during this year. He always looks irritated when I am in his presence, so I decided to avoid him. The truth is, my husband doesn't love me. I am only a substitute of the one he truly loves...my sister. My sister who decided to leave me in this country, dumping the suitor our parents planned for her just so she could study abroad. My parents always gave her the best and in this country, my husband Adrian is the best choice. It was even better when they found out that he was also interested in her, but my sister being the rebellious daughter they always let her be, ran away to study abroad swearing to come back when they called off the wedding. My parents were furious for only a minute before my mum came up with the brilliant idea of substituting me with her, they rather do that and ignore my opinion than offend the almighty CEO Adrian. "He is perfect for you! And it's not as if you're in any relationship Lilian. We're doing this for you" said my mum That was the only time,they decided to remember me. It's crazy how after they decided to settle for me, they didn't ask for my opinion or think that I would also have dreams that I want to chase, instead of getting married. But the truth is I was not offended because to me it was a good plan at first because I saw Adrian and I fell for him at first sight. I didn't know I was making the worst decision of my entire life. He found out about the switch on our wedding day after the vows and formalities were completed and the only reason he didn't kick me out was because it would affect his companies reputation. On that day he called me a gold digger and a liar and continue to ignore me throughout our marriage. Well today is our one year anniversary and unfortunately for him, he is a public figures and so we had to do a little get together to continue this facade that we act for the world to see. Aside from us, no one knows that our relationship is a scam, not even our parents. I look at myself in my vanity mirror, touching up my makeup, hoping that the effort I put in dressing up in this bespoke bodycon red dress will help my husband to notice me, even for a few minutes. I need his eyes on me today, especially because my sister is going to be around for our dinner. She just came back after wilding away in God knows where and I hate the fact that she has to make an appearance here, knowing the circumstances of how I got into this marriage. As I touch up my lip gloss, I heard a knock on my room "Come in!" "Ma'am, your family and friends are in the sitting room. They're waiting for you." A maid came to call me "Okay! I'm almost done, what about my husband...is he- is he also downstairs?" I asked nervously hoping that he didn't leave me here alone to deal with our guests. "Ma'am, Sir is in one of the guest rooms, showing a guest a place to clean up. Should I go and call him?" I smile feeling relieved that he stayed "No, thank you. I'll call my husband, myself." I touch up myself and do a final outfit check before walking out of my room and heading towards the place my husband will likely be. Who is he helping? I hope everything is alright with the guest and it's nothing that can't be fixed... I walk towards the door, feeling very nervous to open it because knowing my husband, he wouldn't want me to intrude on anything he is doing. I think I should just go downstairs and leave him. He and the guest will come when they're done. With this in mind, I turn to take my leave but paused when I heard a moaning sound from the room. My heart stopped. I pray that whoever is making those sounds isn't my husband and I hope he already left the guest in there. I know my husband avoids me like a plague but he wouldn't cheat on me...right? I quietly open the door, only to see my husband and a woman kissing each other in a very intimate way. There's literally no space between them. "Oh my God" I whisper as I used my hands to cover my mouth. Even with this sound I made, my husband doesn't leave the lady, instead he grabs her tighter to him, placing one hand on her butt and the other on the back of her head holding her to him. It looks like she is trying to resist, but he isn't letting her go. I can't believe this is happening to me. I know he hates me but this? I pushed open the door only to see them release each other. As I see the face of the woman he was kissing, I stumbled on my feet out of shock and hurt.