The Wrong Wife by Maya Alden

Chapter 19

Esme

By the time I woke up Saturday morning, Declan had already left, and according to the sticky note taped to the coffee machine, he was gone until Sunday evening.

I was alone at home. Calliope didn't work on the weekends as Declan was hardly ever home, either traveling for business or pleasure.

"Miss Vivian and he always made plans for the weekend," Calliope explained. "They went sailing to Catalina or flew to wine country in Napa or drove to Santa Barbara. Mr. Declan likes to surf, so he sometimes goes to Baja California."

My phone rang, and I sighed when my mother's name flashed on the screen. Monica Hartley was going to grade my performance from last night.

"Mama, how are you?"

"Esme, what did you do? Daddy is so upset with you. Did you talk all night about homeless people at the dinner?" she demanded.

No, How are you? Hey, we forced you to marry this stranger; your sister was fucking five minutes ago, is that working out for you?

"The senator's wife asked some questions."

I knew it was a waste of time to explain myself. She wasn't calling to hear my side but to tell me his side and how much of a disappointment I was. Didn't they ever get tired of beating up on me? How could they keep at it with such diligence? I didn't have the energy to be this annoyed with anyone or anything, even if I had good reason. It was unfair that they couldn’t see I had put my life on hold for a year to save Daddy's business when Viv fucked up. I didn't expect gratitude because I'm not an idiot, but still, they could at least acknowledge that I did something for them.

I listened to her mention my dress and makeup and moved on to how I seemed to be talking too much to Mateo, who was supposed to pay attention to Mrs. Rivers and not me.

I took the phone with me to the gym, happy to have the penthouse to myself.

I put her on the speaker by a yoga mat and started to do pushups. I tried to do a 100 a day and then move on to cardio with a thirty-minute run on the treadmill.

"Viv is getting an annulment, Esme," my mother announced, and I paused for a moment and then continued to lift myself off the mat. I wasn't surprised, and I refused to be hurt by it.

"Hmm."

"Daddy says that if that happens, we can do the same for you and Dec, and they can get married."

How nice of them!

"Did you hear me, Es?"

"Yes, mama." I finished fifty pushups, my arms burning, and lay face down on the yoga mat.

"You didn't ever think this would become a real marriage, did you, Es?" I knew she wasn't exactly concerned about me; she didn't want any drama.

"Of course not, mama." My voice was silenced because I was trying to catch my breath.

"Good. Good. You'd never have a chance with him anyway, so it's a good thing you know your limitations."

Did she ever hear herself, I wondered. The way she spoke to me! Like I was nothing. Someone nobody would want. And maybe she was right. My parents didn't want me, so why should it be a surprise that they felt no one else would? Not Declan, who had made it clear that my giving him a hand job had been just fun and games. Right! Because I gave hand jobs to every man, I ever sat in a car with. It was my thing. I was short, ugly, and slutty. Woohoo!

"Mama, I have to go."

"Yes, yes. Just make sure you don't do anything to upset Dec. Or Viv. They must reconcile."

"Yes, mama." And who cares how I feel?

"And think about it; you won't be trapped for a year in that penthouse."

I wondered how they'd spin it to the media. Two weddings and two annulments! But people like the Knights could buy stories in gossip magazines. They'd say Declan came to his senses and went back to the love of his life. And since no one cared about me anyway, I'd disappear into the background as I always did. Heartbroken for sure, but that would be my dirty secret, which no one would know.

After I worked out and showered, I took an Uber to West Hollywood to meet Maria and Mark for lunch. They'd promised that Restaurant A.O.C. had an excellent wine list. I didn’t always go to fancy places because my budget didn't stretch that far, but I needed something nice to happen to me, and I'd decided to splurge.

It was always a pleasure to spend time with Maria and Mark. They were lovely people from a tight-knit family that I wish I had. They'd accepted me as their own, and I'd always been grateful. They hated how my family treated me, but they never judged me, understanding that familial relationships were complicated. They'd prefer that I managed my "please everyone all the time" personality trait better to not get used by everyone, but it also made me who I was, so they were patient with me.

"Any hanky-panky taking place?" Mark asked after we'd ordered.

I'd decided to enjoy a glass of crisp Carneros Chardonnay with the seabass I ordered. Mark, who was vegetarian, had ordered their black truffle risotto and a glass of blanc d blanc champagne, and Maria, who had missed dinner the previous night and breakfast this morning, ordered a steak, medium rare with a wine reduction sauce and big bold Bordeaux.

"Hanky-panky? Between Declan and me?" I tried to delay answering the question.

"No, between you and Mickey Mouse," he mocked.

Maria whistled softly. "Looks like there might be something there."

I shrugged. "I…Declan… we had some fun, and then he told me that’s what it was I shouldn’t get my hopes up like I had the guts to do that. And my mother informs me that Viv is getting an annulment, so then Declan and I can do the same—and then they can get married. If Viv had kept her legs together and not married Nick, I'd be living with Mark and getting that job at Keck."

I could be myself with these people, and it was a relief to say what I thought and not hide how I felt.

"Do you like Dec?" Maria wanted to know.

I shrugged.

"She's had a crush on him forever," Mark piped in.

"He's handsome; I'll give you that." Maria patted my hand. "So…did you have sex?"

"No. More of a hand job on both sides situation in the back seat of his Escalade."

"Nice." Mark clapped. "Finally, you did something kinky. Was it good?"

My face went red. As open as I was with Mark—and as open as he was with me (and boy was he!), I was embarrassed. I was still new to sex.

"You work too hard; you need to get out and have some fun," Maria said supportively.

"I just want to live my life," I moaned. "Declan is a jackass most of the time. And my father is driving me up the wall."

I told my friends almost everything, but I'd never told them about the physical abuse. Declan had looked angry enough to kill when he'd seen the marks on my arm. My father had been putting marks on me since I was a young child…no, I won't think about this now.

"You have to talk to Declan about what you're going through." Mark put his hand on mine and squeezed.

"Yes. He needs to give you a safe space and a break. Just tell him you won't do social events. You hate those things anyway," Maria added. "Just get through the time you have in that luxurious penthouse of his—and tell him that you'll both be pleasant and friendly to one another. No hand job required if you don't want it."

"The gym is very nice. And the views are stellar."

"And the rent is free," Mark reminded me.

"Always a good thing," I agreed. "Maria, thank you for hiring me at Safe Harbor."

"Oh, stop," Maria protested. "I'm so grateful that you want to work with us. With your qualifications and education, you could be running the place. Would you want to?"

"I don't want to do admin work…but let's see how it goes. I'm excited to start working there this Monday. It's going to be glorious."

As I always did, I focused on what was working, and so much of it was.