My Husband Kept Protecting His Apprentice, So I Stopped Being His Wife

1: 1

I came home from work.

And there was my husband's new apprentice, the girl he'd taken on recently.

Wearing my pajamas, with the necklace my husband gave me around her neck.

The second she saw me, she actually greeted me like she was the lady of the house.

Ebony, what are you doing home?

All I wanted was a good shower and to sleep. When I didn't answer her, she only got bolder.

"Ebony, your taste is awful. These pajamas look like something my grandmother would wear."

Antony quickly pulled her aside and explained, "She's young, she doesn't know any better."

I let out a cold laugh. "Right, so young. A whole two hundred and eighty-eight months old."

1.

Antony Henson took on a female apprentice six months ago.

At first, Rachel James knew Antony was married, and when she needed to ask him about something, she kept her distance.

But three months ago, she lost all sense of boundaries.

Every few days, she'd turn up at my home.

A full week of overtime, and I'd finally gotten an early shift, only to walk in and find the last person I wanted to see.

Rachel was wearing my pajamas, the necklace Antony gave me hanging at her throat, the corners of her mouth lifting. "Ebony, the power's out at my place, and I'm scared of the dark on my own. You wouldn't send me away, would you?"

I had nothing to say.

Three days ago the excuse for coming to my home was that her water was shut off. This time it's the power?

The second I opened my mouth to snap at her, Antony leaned in and hurried to explain, "Ebony, we're all family here, you..."

Slap

I backhanded him across the face. Beside us, Rachel shrieked in fright. "Ah, how could you hit someone?"

I ignored her. My eyes stayed fixed on Antony's furious face.

He hadn't expected me to actually strike him. His composure slipped and he roared at me, "Ebony Fox, what the hell has gotten into you?"

Slap

Another one landed on his cheek. "Family? Is she your mother or your sister? Next time you bring some shameless woman home, you can get out with her."

The words snapped him back to his senses.

Because this apartment was bought for me by my parents.

Antony wasn't a Seattle native. If he hadn't married me, he'd never have gotten his residency here, and it was that local residency that spared him no end of trouble at work.

The next second, he grabbed my hand. "Ebony, I'm sorry, I lost control just now. Look, she's out here in Seattle making her own way, and as her mentor, I help where I can."

"And she already calls you Ebony, so of course she's one of us. One night here won't hurt anything, will it?"

Seeing Antony grovel like that in front of me, Rachel instantly dropped the taunting look and gazed at me, all wounded innocence. "Ebony, II didn't mean it. I promise tonight's the last time. I'll never come bother you again. Please don't be angry with Antony."

As she spoke the tears started falling, and every so often she stole a glance at Antony out of the corner of her eye.

But Antony didn't dare look at her at all. He was too worried about me being angry, and kept explaining, "Ebony, don't worry, I won't bring her back again. Go rest, I'll go make you dinner."

Seeing him about to cook for me, the ache in Rachel's eyes nearly spilled over.

She grabbed hold of him. "Antony, you've been tired all day too. I'll cook for Ebony."

And with that she turned and headed for the kitchen.

I don't know why, but watching her walk away, she looked like the woman of this house.

I scoffed. "Anyone who didn't know better would think I'm the guest and the two of you are the married couple."

Antony obviously caught what I meant. Maybe because Rachel was there, he took a reproachful tone with me. "Ebony, Rachel's kind enough to cook for you, how can you talk with such a nasty edge?"

Leaving that line behind, he went into the kitchen too. Watching him go in, Rachel walked up behind him as naturally as anything and tied his apron on for him, a sweet smile on her face. "Antony, you cook, I'll wash the vegetables."

And Antony actually answered, "Sure, teamwork makes the work go easy."

The anger shot right up in me, and not because I'm petty.

It was the way the two of them moved in that kitchen, exactly like a devoted married couple, without the slightest regard for me, the actual wife.

"Get out of my home."

2: 2

2.

Both of them turned at the same time, still busy at the stove. Antony's face went tight, but even now he didn't dare lose his temper. Rachel's eyes welled up again.

She looked at me, tears trembling on her lashes. "Ebony, is it something I did wrong? Just tell me and I'll fix it."

I said nothing.

When I stayed silent, she cast a wounded glance at Antony, then untied the apron. "I'm sorry. I overstepped. I'll go right now."

She hung the apron on the wall, and when she reached the door, her steps suddenly stopped. I knew she was waiting for Antony to ask her to stay.

Antony clenched his fists, not daring to look at her, and only said softly, "Rachel, be careful on the way back."

When the answer she wanted didn't come, she grabbed the bag beside the shoe cabinet and ran out without looking back.

She left still wearing my pajamas.

The apartment went terrifyingly quiet in an instant. Antony saw it and put on an awkward smile. "Dinner's almost ready."

Half an hour later.

Everything he'd made was food I liked. He put a piece of sweet-and-sour pork ribs on my plate. "Ebony, be as angry as you want, but don't play games with your own body."

We were each other's first love.

Getting this far hadn't been easy, and the way he was acting right now was pure effort to win me back.

I let out a long sigh, and half the anger inside me faded. I took a small bite of the ribs. "Too sweet."

Seeing that I'd finally spoken, the tightness in Antony's face eased.

"That's my fault. I haven't cooked in a few days, so I'm out of practice. It's fine, I'll cook for you every day from now on."

He was working this hard to please me, and I'm not the type to push my luck.

The next second he sat down beside me again, slid an arm around my waist, rested his head on my shoulder, and coaxed, "Ebony, don't be angry anymore. I'll go buy a durian right now and kneel on the shell. If that's not enough, then, then I'll kneel on a washboard."

I couldn't hold back a laugh.

Fine.

"All right. I'll forgive you today. Don't ever do this again."

He shot to his feet and even bowed to me, pinching his voice thin. "Thank you for your mercy, my lady."

After that, he really didn't bring Rachel home again.

Antony's company and mine were just one building apart.

This morning, after a meeting, I remembered that when he'd dropped me off, I'd left a document in his car.

But when I got to the front of his building, I saw Rachel getting out of the car with him.

A client was walking behind them.

Just then the client said, "Mr. Henson, you and your wife really get along."

I thought Antony would explain. Instead he smiled and answered, "You're joking, Mr. Finch."

Rachel stood beside him, all bashful, and hooked her arm through his.

Well.

No wonder he'd been so well-behaved this past month. His company had just changed locations.

Maybe the look I was giving them was too sharp. Antony suddenly glanced my way, and the second he saw me, he pried Rachel's hand off at once.

Rachel asked, all confusion, "Honey, are you feeling okay? Your face doesn't look right."

I clapped my hands as I walked over. "Huh. Funny, I didn't know my husband had divorced me."

The client clearly turned to look at me, a little bewildered too.

I stopped in front of them, gave the client a polite smile first, then looked at Antony. "Well? Aren't you going to explain to your client?"

The client asked, puzzled, "Mr. Henson, who is this?"

The moment he said it, Rachel hurried to pull the client along. "Mr. Finch, look, the meeting's about to start. Let me take you up."

The client glanced at his watch, then followed Rachel off.

I said, with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, "You've got a nice little life going, Mr. Henson. One wife at home, one at the office? Maybe I should throw you a banquet one of these days."

3: 3

3.

His fist clenched, then loosened. He softened his voice. "Ebony, it was just a joke from a client. Why take it to heart?"

"Rachel and I only do this so the deal goes smoothly."

"Ebony, Rachel is like a little sister to me. Why have you been going after her lately?"

I laughed.

A little sister?

Going after her?

"Ha. A joke? A deal? What, that client only agreed to work with you two because of your pretty faces?"

"Once, twice, fine, Antony. But you keep defending her, over and over. What exactly is she to you? Don't tell me you don't know."

Instead of getting angry at all this, he actually smiled.

The next second he took my hand. "Ebony, what goes on in that head of yours all day? I help her because the boss put her in my hands himself. If I don't look out for her, isn't that the same as going against the boss?"

"All right, don't be upset. If this really bothers you that much, I'll go write my resignation letter for the boss later. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

Every time we fought, he was the one who backed down first.

And when he put it that way, I was the one who came off as unreasonable.

That was exactly why everyone saw us as the model couple. Even my own parents said I'd married well, that no one but Antony could put up with me.

But this time, I didn't want to just let it go.

We'd fought before, and it always blew over fast. Since Rachel came along, we fought more and more, even if in the end nothing ever came of it.

But it had already done real damage to my marriage.

Right now, every explanation of his was just an excuse to me. I shoved him away, angry. "Antony, do you remember that necklace you gave me last time?"

"Of course I do. I gave it to you for our third anniversary."

I looked at him and pressed on. "She was wearing it."

He grabbed my hand and coaxed me. "Of course I know that. That's why I bought you a new one, a limited edition."

In a flash, like a magician, a necklace appeared in his hand, and before I could react it was around my neck.

I looked at that familiar face of his.

Seven years in love, three years married, ten whole years, and it all played back through my mind like a movie.

Then I thought over everything that had happened lately.

He and Rachel really hadn't done anything. I knew every time he brought her home, and there were cameras in the house.

So what was I even thinking?

Was I going to throw away all these years over someone who meant nothing to us?

Just then Antony's phone rang. It had to be his boss. His face turned grave and he said, "Okay."

He hung up, kissed my forehead, and said, full of apology, "Ebony, the meeting's about to start. Go wait for me in the car. I'll come find you as soon as it's over."

Then he handed me the car keys and walked off without looking back.

I sat in the car for half an hour. The photo hanging from the mirror was still the one from when we first got together.

In it, he and I were smiling, happy.

I clenched my fist and told myself, [Ebony, stop letting your mind run wild. He loves you. He's always loved you]

After all that back and forth in my head, I quietly drove home.

Antony came back that night in high spirits, wrapping his arms around me and spinning me in circles. "Ebony, we landed the contract. The boss says he's giving me a raise. Ebony, aren't I amazing?"

He spun me until my head swam, and I quickly reached out to swat him. "Amazing, amazing, you're the most amazing. Now put me down, you're making me dizzy."

He set me down right away, gently.

For a moment, all the distance of the past weeks vanished, and it was as if we were back to when we'd first started dating.

But heaven always seemed to want to make a joke of me.

A week later.

My boss sent me on a business trip, a night flight at that.

But by the time I got to the airport, a storm hit, and the airline canceled tonight's flight. After I called my boss to explain, I had no choice but to drag my luggage home.

I had just parked the car when I heard a familiar voice.

"Antony, honey, hang in there a little longer. We're almost home."

4: 4

4.

Rachel's voice carried a note of coy urgency, and Antony's hand rested on her waist as he mumbled, "Rachel, I'm sorry to make you drive me back like this."

The next second she threw herself into his arms. "Antony, I like you."

Antony froze completely, but he didn't push her away.

Watching them like that, I could have rushed over and torn into both of them, cursed Antony until he had nowhere to hide. But I was frighteningly calm. I pulled out my phone and recorded the whole ugly scene.

Antony lifted a hand to Rachel's face, and she gazed up at him with such happiness, the two of them wrapped in each other, eyes tangled together, not caring in the least that they were in a parking garage where anyone could come by at any moment.

The two of them kissed, lost in it.

A few minutes later they finally pulled apart, reluctant, and Antony seemed to sober up.

"Rachel, I'm... I'm sorry, I..." he said, guilt in his voice.

Rachel didn't care at all. She grabbed at him as he tried to leave and kept confessing. "Antony, I really do like you. Even if you're married, I still like you. And you like me too, don't you?"

Antony hesitated a moment, then pulled his hand free of her grip. "Rachel, I'm married. You can't like me."

At that, her voice rose, worked up. "I don't care. You clearly like me too. Why won't you admit it?"

Antony clenched his fist. "There's no way for us."

"What are you afraid of? As long as she doesn't find out, it's fine. Antony, as long as I can be with you, I don't care if it's out in the open. I'm willing."

Rachel leaned in to kiss him, and in that second, maybe his conscience caught up with him, because he pushed her away and fled.

Only after Rachel too left the garage, hurt, did I step out of the shadows and stare at the images on my phone.

In them, Antony's eyes were plainly full of feeling. That same look he once gave me.

I didn't know what they'd done behind my back, in all the places I couldn't see.

Whether it was only kissing, or whether they'd been in bed together long ago.

An hour later.

I didn't go home. I found a hotel nearby and checked in.

But no sooner had I lain down than my phone buzzed.

Your husband's cheating on you and you still have the mood to go on a business trip.

Attached was a photo. Rachel and Antony, cozy together inside the karaoke bar.

Hah.

I didn't even have to think to know this was Rachel's taunt.

Rachel, oh, Rachel.

Should I call you clever, or stupid?

After saving the photo, I didn't reply. I went to the desk, opened my laptop, and posted the video I'd just recorded along with that photo online.

When that was done, I quickly got in touch with a lawyer to go over the divorce agreement.

I didn't finish until three in the morning.

Looking at the divorce papers the lawyer sent to my laptop, I gave a mocking little laugh. "Ten years of love, and in the end it still comes to nothing between us."

My finger hovered over send.

I asked myself whether I'd regret this.

A person who has betrayed you in body and in heart, what does it matter even if he loves you?

His love would go to a thousand other women, never mine alone. Once I saw that clearly, I stopped hesitating and sent the divorce papers to Antony.

The next day.

Three in the afternoon.

Antony called. I thought he'd demand to know why I wanted a divorce, but he didn't. The first thing out of his mouth was, "Ebony Fox, you've gone too far."

"You actually hired someone to follow me."

"I got drunk last night, Rachel was kind enough to drive me home, and you hire someone to spread lies. Why would you do this?"

Listening to him accuse me, I figured he hadn't gotten around to reading the email yet. More likely Rachel had already called him to complain.

Seeing that I said nothing, he paused a second, then asked in a heavy voice, "Ebony Fox, have you got someone else?"