Supposedly Husband
Sarah
I didn’t believe him. Of course, he had to be lying. If it wasn’t Bella, it had to be someone else. Some other women.
“You know what? Fuck it. I’m not doing this,” Cullen snapped suddenly, his voice sharp with frustration.
“What?” I asked, confused, taken aback by the sudden shift.
But he didn’t answer me. He just shook his head, turned around, and walked straight out the door.
“ Where are you going?.... Cullen! Cullen!” I called after him, but he didn’t turn back. He didn’t stop. He just kept going until the front door slammed shut behind him with a loud thud.
I stood there for a moment, frozen. Then I looked down at myself. At the red lingerie, I’d chosen so carefully. At the effort, I’d put into trying to be desirable to a man who clearly wanted nothing to do with me. And for reasons I couldn’t fully explain, the tears started to fall. Slowly at first, then all at once, like a dam breaking.
Even after everything, moving into this cold, unfamiliar house, and the way Cullen had treated me with such indifference, I’d never had a full-blown breakdown.
But that night, I did. I broke down completely and cried myself to sleep.
I don’t know if Cullen ever came back to bed. I don’t know what time he returned or if he even did. All I know is that when I woke up the next morning, the bed beside me felt just as cold and empty as I remembered.
I dragged myself to the shower. My eyes were swollen and puffy. I looked awful, tired, defeated, like someone I didn’t recognize in the mirror. I layered on the makeup, trying to cover the exhaustion and heartbreak.
When I finally made my way downstairs, I found my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, and my brother-in-law standing near the door, preparing to leave together.
“Hey Bella,” she greeted cheerfully. “I’m so glad you woke up. I just left you a message in the dining room.”
“Oh,” I said softly. “Where are you guys going?”
“There’s a little family business meeting we have to attend,” she explained. “So, it looks like you’ll be alone in the house until tomorrow.”
“Oh… you’re not coming back today?”
“Not today, we are spending the night. But Cyrus will try to get back, it'll probably be very late then.” She smiled. “So enjoy the house without us, with your husband.”
My father-in-law gave me a curt nod. Cyrus did too. I acknowledged them, though I couldn’t meet Cyrus’s eyes. Not after what I’d heard the night before, him and his wife, the passion, the intimacy.
Something I’d never experienced. Something I now realise I might never experience.
And just like that, they were gone. Leaving me alone in this big, empty house With my supposedly husband..... Or whatever Cullen Cincinnati was supposed to be to me.
I went to the dining room and had breakfast alone. The silence in the house was deafening. It was the first time I’d been here without the presence of the Cincinnati family. Sure, the maids were still around, and the cook moved quietly in the kitchen, but without the people who owned the house... it felt hollow.
I felt alone. Completely and my mind was a storm of emotions. After the conversation I had with Cullen yesterday, I was heartbroken. More than heartbroken, I felt small, unwanted, invisible. I needed to talk to someone, anyone.
I would have turned to my mother-in-law, but she'd already left with the others. I just needed someone to talk to me. To give me a sliver of hope. A little strength. I didn’t even care if it was all lies, I just wanted to feel okay again. I wanted someone to tell me it was going to be fine, even if it wasn’t. I needed to feel human.
So, I decided to go to Bella’s house.
Maybe I could give her a version of what happened with Cullen. I knew anything she said would probably be sugarcoated, fake even but I also knew she’d say it just to help me feel better. And I needed that right now.
After finishing my breakfast, I left the house and started walking slowly down the road to Bella’s. Each step echoed with the memory of Cullen’s words from the night before. They repeated over and over in my head, like a punishment. Like a reminder that I wasn’t wanted.
When I reached the door, I knocked gently and rang the bell. I waited. No answer.
I rang again, a little harder this time. A few moments later, the door finally opened but the face that met me wasn’t the one I expected.
It wasn’t Bella. It wasn’t her nanny or one of her maids.
It was him.
My husband. Cullen.
Standing in the doorway of Bella’s house. Bare-chested. A towel wrapped around his waist. Hair wet. Skin damp, as if he’d just stepped out of the shower.
In her house. That was all the answer I needed.
I had questioned whether Cullen had been coming here every morning. Now I knew. He had. And if he was showering here—walking around half-naked in the morning, this wasn’t just a friendly visit.
This was something more. So much more.
My heart felt like it cracked open in my chest. The betrayal. The confirmation. The image in front of me.
I couldn’t take it. I snapped.
With everything in me, I shoved Cullen out of the way. He wasn’t expecting it, and I used that moment to push past him, stepping into Bella’s house.
“Bella!” I shouted, rage tearing out of me. “Bella, where are you, you freaking whore! You stupid bitch!”
But I didn’t get any farther.
Cullen’s hand clamped over my mouth.
I thrashed, trying to rip it away. He held on tighter. One of his arms locked around my wrists, pulling them behind me with a strength I didn’t know he had, while the other hand stayed firmly over my mouth.
His eyes bored into mine, dark with fury. “Stop,” he said, voice low and controlled. “I need you to stop shouting.”
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, my breaths coming fast and harsh against his palm. I kept struggling, but eventually, when the fire in me started to simmer just a little, I nodded.
Slowly, he lowered his hand.
“What I want you to do now,” he said tightly, “is turn around and go back to the house. Do you understand?”
I shook my head. “No.”
His hand twitched. For a moment, I saw it... he was on the edge. He raised his hand slightly, not striking me, but warning me.
“Don’t make me,” he said through gritted teeth. “I don’t want to touch you, Sarah.”
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