His Rejected Plus-size wife

“Mommy.” A little girl screamed while hugging her mom. I stared at the sight, my eyes getting wet. I wanted someone to call me Mommy. Someone whose little hands would reach for mine when they were afraid and I could hold against my chest and love without wondering whether I was asking for too much. But at twenty-seven, I was still a virgin, a married woman who had never been touched by her husband. And how was I supposed to have a child when the man I married barely looked at me? "Goodbye, ma'am." A voice brought me back to reality. I blinked. One of my students stood beside my desk, her books pressed against her chest. "Goodbye, Sarah." She smiled and hurried out of the classroom. I watched her leave, then glanced at the wall clock. I had spent the last ten minutes staring outside. All my students had already left, and the classroom was now deadly quiet. I closed my notebook. Thinking about my marriage during working hours wouldn't change anything. If anything, it would only make me miserable before I even got home. I packed my laptop, arranged the papers on my desk, and slipped them into my bag. As I reached for the strap, my phone vibrated. A notification appeared on the screen. MARVIN HALDON CLOSES MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS DEAL. His picture was beneath the headline. Marvin stood in front of a row of men in expensive suits, his black suit perfectly fitted and his expression carried the confidence I had admired long before I became his wife. My lips curved into a smile. He had done it. I knew how hard he had worked on that deal. For the past month, his calls had become shorter, and his replies had grown less frequent. Whenever I asked how things were going, he gave me the same answer. "Fine." Sometimes, he didn't even bother to reply. Still, I was proud of him. I enlarged the picture, studying his face. Three years of marriage, and I could still remember the first time I saw him. I had been eighteen, standing beside my grandfather at a family dinner. Marvin had walked into the room wearing a dark blue suit, and I had forgotten what I was saying halfway through my sentence. Now whenever I looked at him, I remembered the girl I had been before I learned that loving someone didn't mean they would love you back. My thumb hovered over his number. I almost put the phone away. What if he was busy or he didn't answer? Then I remembered the headline. He deserved a congratulatory call. I pressed the call button. He answered on the second ring. "Hey, congratulations, babe!" The excitement in my voice embarrassed me a little, but I couldn't help it. There was a brief silence. "Thank you." His voice was flat. I continued regardless. "You did it. I knew you would." "Hmm." I waited for him to say something else but he didn't. "When will you be back?" "Tonight." He muttered My heart jumped. "Really?" I suppressed the urge to scream. "I'll see you tonight, then." The call ended. I lowered the phone slowly. For a few seconds, I stared at the screen, he had probably been surrounded by people. He was a busy man, and closing a deal of that size must have been exhausting. There was no reason to expect him to spend ten minutes on the phone with me. Besides, he was coming home. I slipped my phone into my bag and hurried out of the classroom. For the first time in weeks, I couldn't wait to get home. ****** I stopped at a supermarket on my way back. The shopping basket in my hand was already half full when I reached the dress section. I had originally come for groceries, but that plan disappeared the moment I saw a red dress displayed near the entrance. It was fitted at the waist, with a low neckline and a slit that ran just above the knee. It was a bit revealing but then I thought. Wearing this tonight won't be bad, maybe he'll finally look at me. I picked it up and headed for the changing room. As I stepped inside, I heard voices from the next cubicle. "Did you get the invitation?" one girl asked. "Of course. And I need to look classy and hot." The other girl squealed. "Yess… Do you understand what kind of men will be there? Billionaires will be" I shook my head, smiling despite myself. Young girls. "Imagine if CEO Marvin attended," the first girl continued. "I heard he's back in the country." My hands stopped moving. Marvin? I stood still, listening before I could stop myself. "That man is a Greek god." the second girl said. "Too handsome, rich, he has everything." "Exactly. If I can get him to look at me twice, I'll consider my life a success." They burst into laughter. I looked down at the dress in my hands. Of course, they would talk about him. Marvin was the sort of man people noticed when he entered a room. Women looked at him. Men wanted his approval. Business magazines wrote about his achievements. I had seen the comments beneath his pictures. Some women called him the perfect husband for them. Others joked about being willing to sleep with him even if he never spoke to them. If only they knew he was married. I stepped out of the cubicle a few minutes later, carrying the red dress. The girls were standing near the mirrors, comparing shoes. One of them glanced at me. “You should have picked a dress that suits your size." I was used to people body shaming me but I never let it get to my head. "Don't go falling and breaking your thin legs in that shoe." I replied Her face turned green, I didn't wait, I forced a smile and walked away. After shopping, I paid, collected my groceries, and left. Tonight would be different. It had to be. ********* I reached home shortly after four. The house was usually quiet when I entered. Marvin and I lived in a large house with more rooms than we needed and somehow, nothing felt like home. I dropped my bag on the sofa and went straight to the kitchen to put the groceries away. By five, I had decided on the menu. Marvin liked grilled chicken, although he rarely ate at home. I made a fresh salad, prepared rice, and set aside a small cake. The cake wasn't perfect, but it looked good enough. I wrote congratulations honey, on it. I stood back to admire it. It was ridiculous how happy a little cake could make me. I wanted him to come home, see what I had done, and smile. At half past seven, I went upstairs to shower. After dressing, I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the neckline of my red dress. For a moment, I smiled at my reflection. Then the smile slowly faded. I turned sideways, studying my figure. My mother had once told me I needed to lose some weight before my wedding. I laughed it off because Marvin had once said he preferred plus-size women. I had overheard him telling a friend that he found them more attractive, and those words had stayed with me long after the conversation ended. So when my mother complained about my weight, I didn't worry. Why should I? The man I loved liked women like me or at least, that was what I had believed. I looked at myself in the mirror again, my fingers tightening around the fabric of my dress. ****** By nine o'clock, the food was still untouched. I sat on the sofa, my legs tucked beneath me, watching the clock. I was getting impatient so I called him. The phone rang until the call ended. I stared at the screen. Perhaps his flight had been delayed. That happened all the time. I placed the phone on the table and stood up to check the food. The food was getting cold, so I covered it again. At ten, I called him a second time. He didn't answer. I had imagined this evening in so many ways. I swallowed. My phone vibrated. I reached for it immediately, expecting his name. Instead, I received an email. The subject line read: PREMIUM INVITATION: CEO'S PRIVATE PARTY