Fake Husband, Real Affair

Chapter 4

To Sean, it was perfectly fine to share a room with his sister-in-law. That alone said everything. I couldn't help thinking about the marriage certificate he casually posted online this morning, was it even real?

I dug it out and sent a photo to my lawyer friend, asking her to verify whether it was authentic.

After cleaning both the master bedroom and the study, I lay down with an ice pack pressed to my swollen cheek. When had Sean's relationship with Mischa started to shift? It felt like it had been going on forever, so long that I'd gotten used to being invisible, used to watching them laugh and whisper like I wasn't even there.

Staring at the ceiling, I unknowingly stayed awake all night. My phone finally buzzed just as the sky began to lighten.

I picked up. My friend's voice came through, soft and hesitant:

"Krystal… that marriage certificate of yours, it's fake."

Even though I'd suspected it, hearing it confirmed was like getting hit with a bucket of ice water. My fingers went numb.

"So… does that mean Sean and Mischa's certificate might be real?" I asked quietly.

What did that make me then? A placeholder? A joke? A woman who shared a bed with her husband for two years without even knowing she was never really his wife?

I hung up without saying another word, letting the phone drop from my hand. After a sleepless night, the decision was clear: my so-called marriage with Sean ended here.

When morning came, I walked straight to the master bedroom and knocked. Sean opened the door, shirtless, hair a mess, but somehow still annoyingly attractive with those sharp features and that chiseled face.

"What is it now?" he snapped. "Here to start another fight? God, how did I end up married to someone like you?"

I cut him off. "Sean, drop the act."

His expression shifted. "What are you talking about?"

"I know the marriage certificate is fake," I said. "You really went all out, huh? Even the couple at the civil office, you hired them, didn't you?"

I stared at the man who once stood downtown holding a banner that said, I love Krystal, who once ran miles in the middle of the night just to find me painkillers for my cramps, who once promised to protect me when I was being bullied at work.

Where had that man gone?

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked at the stranger in front of me.

"What was the point, Sean?" I asked, my voice cracking. "Did you get a kick out of making a fool out of me?"

He crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe like he couldn't care less. That smug, twisted smirk on his face made my stomach turn.

"Yeah," he said coolly. "I did. And since you're already in on the secret, I'll go ahead and tell you, last night, Mischa got your mom to sign the property transfer paperwork."

I froze.

He added with a sneer, "You and your mother really are alike. Mischa said your mom signed without even asking a single question. Didn't even flinch. Must be a family trait, naïve to the core."

His words hit harder than any slap ever could. My mom had trusted him, completely. And now he was mocking her for it.

I snapped. I lunged at him, swinging wildly, wanting to wipe that smug look off his face. But Sean was quicker. He grabbed my wrists, then ruthlessly yanked me back by my hair.