Chapter 1
I’d known Jaxon Cross for twenty years and been married to him for five. Everyone called us the perfect couple. Until the day I accidentally damaged our marriage certificate and went to the County Clerk Office to get a replacement.
“Ms. Hartwell, your marriage certificate is FAKE.” The clerk frowned, her voice tinged with sympathy.[]
“Our system shows Mr. Cross is married, but you’re listed as single.“]]
Hearing that, I gripped the hem of my shirt so tight my knuckles went white.[]
“That’s impossible. We registered five years ago…“]]
“Mr. Cross’s spouse is listed as Scarlett Hayes.”
Scarlett Hayes… That name hit me like a slap to the face, making my head spin.[]
Five years ago, Jaxon had vanished right before our wedding.[]
When I finally found him, he’d lost his memory and was living with another woman.[]
That woman was Scarlett Hayes.
…0
I stood in the county clerk’s office, ears buzzing like someone had just dropped a bomb on my world.
The memory from five years ago slammed into me–vivid as yesterday.]
The day Jaxon got his memory back, he’d pulled me into his arms so tight I could barely breathe, voice cracking:[]
“Remi, God, how could I not know it was you? You’re everything to me–you always have been!“]
Right there in front of me, he’d deleted every trace of Scarlett from his phone and disgustedly threw a check in her face.[]
“Get the hell out! You manipulative bitch, I never want to see you again!“[]
And now? Now I’m staring at proof that they’re actually married?[]
So what does that make me? His live–in side chick?[]
ཇ་ ཇ་ཇ་ཇ་ཅ་འ་ཞ་བོ་བོན་ཁུ་ཇ་ཇ ཆ་
! looked down at the marriage certificate, and my eyes started burning.
Five years. Five years of him whispering “hey, wifey” against my neck every morning. Five years of IKEA runs and arguing over throw pillows, building what I thought was our life together…]]
…But turned out…
Joke’s on me–1 was NEVER his wife at all]
I stumbled home like the walking dead, hand barely touching the door when I heard voices inside.
“Dude, it’s been five damn years. When are you gonna stop screwing Remi over?“[]
It was a voice of Phoenix Rivera–a mutual friend of mine and Jaxon.[]
I froze, heart hammering as I waited for Jaxon’s response.[]
Silence stretched on forever until Phoenix exploded:[]
“Are you kidding me right now? You’ve been playing house with Remi while you’re legally married to some wannabe influencer? I thought you said Remi was your soulmate or whatever!
The sound of a lighter flicking, then jaxon’s voice, all castial like we’re talking about the weather:]
“Look, I gotta keep Scarlett stable, alright? Girl went completely psycho after I left–slashed her wrists, the whole nine yards. She literally can’t handle me not being there.“[]
“Remi’s got me every night, but Scarlett? She’s got nothing. Throwing her this bone… it’s not that big a deal.“}
Every word felt like a slap. My vision blurred as he kept going:{}
“Plus, the’s Arla’s biological mom. Kid deserves to have his parents married on paper, you know? {]
Toh, you wanna talk about Aria?” Phoenix’s voice turned ice–cold angry. “You mean after you secretly drugged Remi to kill her baby so your precious Scarlett’s kid could play house with you two? That’s seriously messed up, Jax!–]]
Wife On Mistress? The
Ahua My Martiere
Chapter 1
The world tilted sideways.
We’d been together around four months when those two pink lines showed up. I was scared but excited–we both were. Then one day I woke up cramping and bleeding, and just like that, it was over.
I’d blamed myself for months. Bad genes, too much stress, not eating right–anything to explain why my body failed our baby.[]
But I never thought that it wasn’t my fault. I was Jaxon who had murdered our child so he could play daddy to Scarlett’s![]
I bit down on my knuckles so hard I tasted blood, desperate not to make a sound.
No wonder he brought Aria home the next day. [
I’d been hesitant about the adoption, but he’d sold it so perfectly–told me loving Aria would help fill the hole our baby left behind.[]
What a fucking joke.
Five whole years. Five years of living in his perfectly crafted lie, totally clueless that the man sharing my bed had already checked out emotionally.
The grief hit me like a truck–everything went dark and my legs just gave out. I crumpled to the ground like a broken doll.]
The voices inside went dead silent. Jaxon burst through the door and found me sprawled on the concrete, immediately scooping me up.[]
I couldn’t help it–flinched away from his touch. His eyes went wide with what looked like panic.[]
“Remi, shit–what happened? Are you okay?”
I stared at him, wondering how much of that concern was real and how much was just another performance.
“I’m fine. Just got overheated outside, made me dizzy.”
He carried me to the couch, and I watched him frown at the bruises blooming on my knees. For a split second, I almost bought it–maybe the clerk’s office really had screwed up somehow.
But then his whole body went rigid, and he couldn’t meet my eyes.
“You were supposed to go to Aria’s sports day this afternoon, right? Don’t worry about the paperwork stuff–I’ll have my lawyer handle it.”
I forced out a smile that probably looked more like a grimace.
“Sounds good.”
The second they left, I grabbed my phone.[]
“I take the assignment–Antarctica. When do I leave?”
