Chapter 7

*TRISTAN* I was heading for my car when I heard my name being called. “Tristan.” I turned around to see Phoebe running up to me. “What is it?” “I have something to tell you.Something that I should have told you a long time ago.” I grimaced. She had to be fast about it. I’ve got work to do. “What is it?”I asked again. “It’s about Cora.The truth is she didn’t just marry you because that was what your Grandma wanted.She had actually had this planned all along.” That got me confused.”What do you mean?” “Cora made me go to Spain.She threatened me.She’s the cause of our breakup.” I crossed my arms.”We broke up on a neutral ground,Phoebe,you told me you were going to pursue your dreams abroad and how could Cora possibly threaten you?” Not that I was ever one to look down on anymore but Cora had nothing and Phoebe was from a powerful family like me so how could Cora possibly threaten her? “She might look weak,Tristan but she’s far from weak.She’s a devil.She threatened to ruin my life if I didn’t leave you back then.I felt scared for days because there were people following me around.She told me not to tell anyone.I wasn’t safe,Tristan.”She let out with tears filled eyes. It was hard to believe what she was saying. I know Cora has been acting violent and rude for the past few days,I didn’t want to believe that she could actually do something like this. It was unbelievable. Was it because of the way Cora had pulled her hair earlier slammed her against the wall? I felt Phoebe wasn’t sure about what she was saying so I let out. “Phoebe,I think you should go home and get some rest.”I advised. She sniffed.”You don’t believe me?I’m telling the truth!” I nodded.”You should get some rest.”With that,I got into the car and my secretary drove off. *********** It was noon and I was tending to some documents in my office when my secretary,James barged into my office. “Boss,you need to see this.” I frowned.”See what?” “It’s your wife.” He brought the iPad in front of me and my jaw dropped to at what I saw. The headlines read… “The Watson’s family finally unveils the heiress.” The heiress was no other than Cora! So she was a Watson?! She told me her last name was Hudges. I kept staring at the picture wanting to make sure that my eyes weren’t deceiving me. I swiped through the news reading more information about it and it was really true. Cora was from the Watson family,an equally powerful family in Texas. They owned an airline,departmental store,game company and many more. They had been my business rivals for years. It was so hard to believe that I was married to someone from this family. And she fucking lied about her background! I recalled what Phoebe had said to me this morning. Now it was highly possible that Cora had indeed threatened her.Cora’s family was more powerful than Phoebe’s. So Cora had to get Phoebe out of my life,deceived my grandmother and got married to me. My mother was right about her all along.She really was a bad woman. An evil bitch. My fists clenched around the iPad and I felt so much hatred for Cora,for being a liar and a pretentious person! My phone beeped. It was a text from my mother. Mother:I saw the news.That woman is clearly evil for hiding her background.I still believe Phoebe is right for you.Phoebe will never hurt or lie to you. I gritted my teeth having a feeling that my mother may be right. *CORA* A few days later found me and my friend,Dylan at a mall. We had been childhood friends and it felt quite nice catching up with him again. I knew that everyone now knows about my real identity. Even if I had begged my father,because I didn’t like the attention,he insisted that I must be introduced publicly as his heiress. I know Tristan must feel like I deceived him but was there any need to explain things to him.To explain why I hid my identity so I could marry him. I feel explaining to him now was pointless and would only make me look stupid and pathetic in his eyes. “Hey,isn’t that Tristan?Who’s that woman because him?”Dylan asked. I glanced to the direction and saw Tristan.He was obviously on a shopping spree with Phoebe. They had really gotten together again? I swallowed hard.”His ex-girlfriend.I mean his girlfriend now.” “What?Is he cheating on you?And how can a man cheat so shamelessly?!”Dylan thundered. Even if my marriage to Tristan had been a secret,Dylan knew about it and he wasn’t in support of it from the start. He stared at my face and asked.”What’s going on,Cora?” I smiled,sadly. “We’re getting divorced.”I announced. “What?!” “Why are you so surprised?” “I mean,you…you sacrificed almost everything for him.You two were married for three years.I thought that by now,he would’ve fallen for you.I mean,who wouldn’t?” I shrugged.”He didn’t.He had wanted to be with that woman all along.” *TRISTAN* As soon as I caught sight of my wife,well,ex-wife,I hurried up to her before I could even think about it. Doesn’t she think she owes me an apology and explanation for lying to me? For hiding her identity? For sabotaging my past relationship?! Instead of her to do that,she’s out here talking so closely to another man. She was wearing a plain peach dress.The color set off her hair skin. Perhaps she was a little tired from shopping,her cheeks were flushed flatteringly and her lips were even redder than usual,she suddenly looked bright and beautiful. Had she suddenly gotten together with that man beside her?! She really is something. She keeps hitting me with different surprises everyday. That dress on her made her look overly attractive and it made me feel uncomfortable. The man beside her turned back as glanced at me as I approached them. The look on his eyes were challenging as if he was trying to tell me that he got her now. *CORA* After explaining the situation to Dylan,I turned around and saw Tristan glaring at me. The contempt in his eyes almost drowned me. As he drew closer,I found myself unable to move.The closer he got,the more tensed I became. What should I even say to him? Dylan placed his hand on my back. “The only wrong you did was lying about your identity but it was a harmless lie,you didn’t do it to harm anymore.You did it so you can marry the man you love and since he doesn’t want your love,you owe him no explanation,now keep your chin high and don’t let him trample over you again.”Dylan advised in a whisper. Just then,I heard Tristan’s voice behind us. “Look who it is.My deceitful wife!Look at you,fooling yourself with another man when we aren’t officially divorced yet.”He sneered. I turned around to face him. “Whether it’s official or not,it doesn’t matter.And I can go anywhere with anyone.”I shot back. Even if I said this to Tristan. It was as if I was saying this to myself. As if I wanted to remind myself that it was really over between us. I glanced at Phoebe and she was smirking at me.I watched as she held onto Tristan’s arm tightly. “Even so.As long as it is not finalized,you’re still married to me.”He pressed on. “You really are a shameless man.You’re sounding possessive over Cora when you have another woman up your arm.”Dylan sneered. “Stay out of this!This is between my wife and I.” “Don’t address me as that.It’s sickening to hear.”I snapped. He glared at me.”Sickening?And what would you call yourself?Your secrets?I don’t even know who I married!” “You never cared about me so it’s irrelevant to explain anything to you now.And I am not going to apologize to you for anything.We’re going to get divorced so let’s pretend like we never met.” Tristan’s jaw clenched.”You do owe me an apology for your silly actions!Let’s say I can ignore the fact that you hide your identity from me,how about you ruining my relation…” “Oh,Tristan.I…my head feels heavy.”Phoebe suddenly interrupted him and leaned against him.