The Other Wife

The Wife

PENÉLOPE

I thought I had married the best man in the world, but it wasn't like that. From being kind, attentive, loving, and chivalrous to me, he turned into the cruelest and emptiest person I had ever known in life. In the end, faces we see, hearts we don't know.

I did everything he asked me to in an attempt to get his attention, but nothing worked. It seemed as if I were just another object in his house. I was alone despite being a married woman. Love at first sight does not exist.

It all started when I went to a party to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was a blessing that no one accompanied me; I had wished it that way because whenever I went out with my sister or some company, I ended up having a bad time because they always criticized me for my conservative way of dressing, often comparing me to outfits for grandmothers.

I arrived at the party themed as a Las Vegas night. I wondered how much my friend had spent on throwing a party of that size.

I carried my gift in my hands and looked for her to wish her a happy birthday before stepping away from her and heading towards a couple of slot machines.

The place was filled with conversations with people who were going to gamble, wearing their elegant suits and dresses. They chatted happily while holding their glasses as the underground night heated up.

It is worth mentioning that I lacked a bit of elegance; I often heard comments around me that my black-rimmed glasses made my eyes look larger than normal, that my attempts at makeup were often a disaster, and that my taste in fashion lacked a lot of being avant-garde. I learned to have fun alone since no one wanted to socialize with the odd one out.

Once I lost some of my money on the slot machines, I decided to go play bingo. I sat at a lonely table and bought a strip of tickets to play at the same time. I was an expert at it.

The game was about to begin when a quite handsome young man, one of those who sin by being so attractive and become the erotic dream of every woman just by looking at him, sat in front of me.

"Can I sit here?" he asked, directing a warm smile at me.

"Go ahead," I pointed to the chair, somewhat embarrassed, in front of me— "the round is about to begin."

"Good luck," he wished me.

"Likewise," I said.

The bingo announcer began to announce the numbers through the microphone, and I tried to concentrate on my tickets, although I felt the stranger's gaze on me, and that made me a little nervous. I missed several numbers due to the unease of having someone like him in front of me. He sat with me when there was space at other tables.

When the announcer finished and a winner was announced, I realized that I could have won round five numbers if it hadn't been for because I was distracted. As I looked up, I noticed that the man hadn't marked a single number.

"You haven't played anything," I said, somewhat surprised.

"It's impossible to concentrate when such a beautiful woman like you is in front of me," he smiled. I felt a slight flutter in my stomach due to the unexpected compliment I received— "Can I buy you a drink?"

He extended the invitation. With nervousness in the air, I accepted gladly. After all, I was alone that night and could accept his invitation without anything bad happening. That's how I felt at that party. Having company for a couple of drinks that night was something I needed. Ulises asked me for my phone number, and we began to see each other.

I felt he was the right person who had finally come into my life. I had never received such warm treatment from him; almost no one ever invited me out because of the embarrassment of going out with "the young grandma" somewhere.

We started dating for three days, during which we had been having a completely normal relationship. Until one day, after leaving a restaurant and getting into the car, he pulled something out of his pants pocket.

"What is this?" I asked him.

"We're getting married," he said with a huge smile on his lips, showing a diamond ring.

My heart beat strongly when I saw the engagement ring he had taken out in front of me. Was this man really asking me to marry him? I had always dreamed of this day, and it was happening right before my eyes at that moment.

"Really? Are you serious?" I asked him, feeling a bit shy.

"Yes, I'm serious. Be my wife, Penelope," he said, pulling out the ring from the box and taking my hand to slide it onto my left ring finger. "I'm very serious."

I felt excitement in my chest because I would be Ulises's wife.

"Yes, I do want to be your wife," I leaned into him to kiss him.

He put the ring on me, and that's when everything began.

"We're getting married today," he said excitedly.

"What? Today? But where?" I asked.

"In Las Vegas. Take this crazy leap with me, Penelope, and let's go to Las Vegas tonight."

It had been the most romantic and wild thing all at once. How could I say no when he was willing to take me to Las Vegas that same night to get married? I accepted. It was madness; it had only been three days, and I would already be his wife.

That very night, as soon as we got off the plane, we got married. Now I was Mrs. Asker. Ulises had rented the largest and most luxurious suite in one of the most expensive hotels in all of Las Vegas.

That same night, with a bed decorated with rose petals and champagne of the highest quality, we tried each other for the first time.

"Are you ready to be mine completely?" he asked me softly as he unfastened my dress.

I was nervous, very nervous about what was about to happen to him.

"Is this your first time?" he asked in his gentle voice as my bra fell to the floor.

"No, but it's my second time," I replied nervously. It had been a long time since my first time. I had lost my virginity to a supposed boyfriend who made a bet to get me into bed.

Now things were different because he was my husband.

"Relax, you're going to enjoy it," he said before capturing my lips and pulling down my panties completely.

It didn't hurt. It had been quite pleasurable being in his arms. The way he touched me, with those thrusts while losing himself in my bouncing breasts, made me touch the sky several times before he did alongside me.

"You're officially Mrs. Asker now," he smiled, giving me a kiss before turning over and sleeping.

That night I slept like I had never done before. I was so happy that all of this had happened and in such a short time. I felt fulfilled for the first time in my life.

Every day we went to different activities, ending up drunk celebrating our honeymoon, and we couldn't stop undressing when we returned to the room to make love like two crazies. That man was insatiable at night.

"You haven't introduced me to your parents. Do they know we're married?" I asked, coming out of playing bingo. I went to one of the casinos to gamble and have some fun.

"No. I don't get along with them very well. Don't worry, they don't need to know about me to love you," he said, taking my hand and smiling at me.

That night we ended up again in bed, devouring each other as proof of love.

It was the last day in Las Vegas when we decided to stay and rest. I had packed all the luggage and had gotten into the tub to relax for a while before going out to pamper my husband when I heard him talking on the phone.

I had wrapped myself in the robe and was ready to go out to the huge balcony the room had, where he was. It was night, and he was smoking a cigarette with his back to me. I opened the sliding door a bit when I heard his voice.

I caught my husband talking on the phone, complaining about marrying an ugly woman. That ugly woman was me.

I felt terrible hearing him complain like that about me, what everyone had done just because of my way of dressing. He was doing it too.

"I've been with her like twenty times already, but I'm craving something better... I feel like I'm having s*x with someone in their old age, even her underwear is a mood killer," he said, and I covered my mouth to hide the tears that were flowing from within me. "I can't believe I was sold this. She feels like a dream. I've been pampering her all week, but it's not my taste."

My chest started to heave as tears kept streaming. He was treating me worse than most. It seemed like my fairy tale, my perfect honeymoon was fading before my eyes.

Suddenly, I became aware of his words, words that went beyond love and disappointment. What sale was he talking about? Had I been sold? I didn't understand anything, and that made my heart beat faster.

All I knew at that moment was that he had bought me and used me; he didn't love me for who I was. I brought my hands to my mouth to stifle a scream. Who had sold me to him? And why had he taken advantage of me if he found me ugly because of my way of dressing?

I had been bought. I was just merchandise.