Claimed by My Husband's Enemy

“Meet my new wife.” I never thought I would hear those words. My slack jaw fully expresses my surprise as I stare at the man I have been married to for ten years and the blonde woman standing nonchalantly next to him. I try to speak, but words fail me. What should I say? What the hell is even going on? Alright, calm down Mel, let's start from the beginning. “Your wife?” I ask, staring at my husband, his smile so strained he looks constipated. His blue eyes betray a glint of worry, but as I watch, the girl squeezes his hand and it disappears. In an instant, his shoulders straighten, and he tilts his chin, looking down his nose at me. My jaw drops. “Yes,” he says. “Lavinia is the woman who kept me company during your absences. I could not fight the attraction. And now I have done the responsible thing and made her my wife.” My vision dims at the edges, my heart slams. And then a thousand colors burst in my eyes. The woman looks nineteen. Nineteen! And this is bigamy. I reach the only conclusion that makes sense. “Is this a prank?” My head swivels around in search of a hidden camera. Could he be acting? But Dany has never been able to tell a lie to save his life. He's not a good actor. A snort, then laughter. The girl throws her head back in guffaw like my children do in the face of a red-nosed clown. This… stokes an unholy fire within me. Her bleached teeth, her perfect silky hair, her canary voice enrages me like nothing ever has. She feels the heat of my gaze, and her laugh falters and fades. I turn my attention to the principal object of my ire as the little b***h rolls her eyes and looks away. Okay, calm breaths Mel, calm breaths. But I don't want to be calm. Why should I be calm? I am calm in the boardroom, calm when negotiating with contractors and lobbyists. Why the f**k should I be calm in the face of my husband of ten years and his chit of a mistress? “Dany,” I say, holding my breath to keep the lid on the volcano in my belly. “Dany …” I repeat, struggling, really struggling to breathe now. “What the hell is going on?” “Mel, I know this must be hard for you to hear…” At those words, the volcano erupts with a loud boom. “HARD FOR ME TO HEAR!” I fly off my seat. He flinches, and his b***h is halfway across the room before she catches herself. “TELL ME, WHAT'S HARD FOR ME TO HEAR? THE FACT THAT MY HUSBAND, OUT OF THE BLUE, BRINGS A BARELY LEGAL CHIT WHO HE’S BEEN f*****g FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG INTO MY HOME AND CLAIMS SHE'S HIS NEW WIFE? THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN LYING TO MY FACE, OR THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE ALWAYS NURSED THE DESIRE FOR A SECOND WIFE? f*****g SPEAK UP, DANY !” His frown deepens as I speak. “She’s nineteen.” My head jerks back as if I'd been slapped. That…that's what he picks up from everything I said? I squint at the blue-eyed, brown-haired, muscular-as-a-mule man standing at six feet two. I could not find my husband in him. This was not the man I married. What did I miss? This couldn't have come out of nowhere. What did I overlook in our marriage? “You have no shame admitting that, do you?” I say more quietly, studying his face. He snorts at my question. “Neither do you all the times you neglect your duties. What else is new?” I frown, confused. “Neglect? I… I never neglected you.” I run a multinational company my mom left me, a company that had been in her family for generations. But my Chairwoman status never affected my duties as a wife and mother. My work itinerary runs around my family’s calendar, I turn off my work phone after six pm, and I never hesitate to clear my schedule or boycott an event during family emergencies. But my husband’s eyes shines with righteous fury at my question. “You dare to deny that?” he seethes. “Let’s call Vivi and Little J down here right now and ask them what they think about their mother, shall we?” “You will not involve my children in this rubbish!” Rage takes the place of pain. The teenage b***h snorts, and I turn to find her eyes trained at the bottom of the stairs. I follow her gaze. My spine stiffens. Vivi and Jeff stand holding hands, staring at us with wide eyes. I rush over to them, and crouch down to meet their gaze. “Hey, loves. What are you doing down here?” They were asleep when I left their bedrooms. I merely went down to see if Dany had come home before retiring to bed myself. “We heard you screaming, mommy?” Vivi says, her eyes looking suspiciously moist. The sight cuts deeper than all my husband's sins. “We thought a bad man broke in,” Jeff adds. A startled laugh escapes me. I wince, stroking their arms even as my own hand trembles. “You know you never have to worry about that, right?” They nod their little heads, bouncing their red manes in the movement. Jeff squeezes his sister's hand in his little one. “Captain Harry Leeds is the best soldier in the whole world,” His eyes shine with innocent glee. “That's right, my love.” I nod in agreement, steering them towards the staircase again. “He's the best. And with him around, no one uninvited can ever get in.” Jeff adores Harry, my head of security. He moves along easily now, but his sister… Vivi looks one word away from tears. I halt, and place a calming hand on her shoulder as my heart thuds. “Vivi?” “Mommy, are you and Daddy fighting?” She asks, her voice faint, as if she fears saying it loudly would make it true. “I…” I hate lying to my children, I hate it so much. It’s all my mother ever did to me, and it left me unprepared to face the truth of life after she passed. I stare in children’s eyes now, as blue as their fathers. “Vivi, Jeff, your daddy and I are just trying to figure something out. You know, like when you leave the toys lying around and Vivi steps on them, then you both argue about who was wrong?” I stare into their large eyes, figuring it out as I go. This is the closest I can come to telling the truth. “Your daddy and I are merely bickering. It's nothing to worry about, we…” I choke on the words, my eyes stinging. “It’s nothing to worry about,” I repeat, in as much reassurance to myself as it was to them. “We will figure it all out, alright?” “Yes, mommy,” Jeff responds with an enthusiastic nod, fully believing me. My little red princess, on the other hand, looks at me searchingly for a while before nodding. “Okay,” I shake my head quickly, and decide on a new plan even as the disgusting cheats continue to stare at us. “Now, how about I call the Captain and have him come take you both out for a night snack while your daddy and I talk things out?” Before either of them can respond, a shadow falls over me and I hear that grating voice followed by an even more aggravating statement. “Pushing the kids aside once more, huh?” I spin on my heels to find her sneering at me. “I can take care of my husband's children,” she continues, “while you and he come to an agreement about your new place in this family.” My eyes bulge, my limbs frozen at her audacity. She swings her hips past me, sashaying towards the staircase. “Come children, we'll watch some cartoons, and I’ll tuck you in bed.” Her sleek hair whips my kids across their faces as she takes to the staircase, and a dynamite explodes in my brain. It was common knowledge that I had a hot fuse. By all accounts, I’d inherited it from my father. But I always try to keep a lead on it. Only, tonight has pushed me past breaking point. I run after the blonde thing who is already halfway up the stairs. My hand seizes her shoulder just as she turns around with terrified eyes. “YOU. WILL. NOT.” I push her down the stairs, and screams take up the silence as she goes tumbling.