Work Text:
Marriage.
Something so many dream about. The ultimate commitment that most people aspire to. It's conditioned into us from such an early age that marriage is what completes your life. It's what will happen to everyone, if you want a good life. It's the union of two people who love each other dearly, the ceremony is usually sweet and so loving it borders being quite sickening. The exchange of heart warming vows, the rings, the first dance, all so full of love and bliss.
It's after the wedding day, your life with your beloved other half, that is almost ignored by many. Or they have the idea in their head of everyday feeling like your on cloud nine, marriage will bring you closer together. Except it never lasts, you both grow. You both change. You aren't the person they fell in love with any more, and vice-versa. You walk around on egg shells, the "I love you's" that were once innate are a rare occurrence and more often than not, forced with no emotion behind them. You realise you've changed, into something you never thought you would become.
Once a union, a commitment of love.
Now a prison.
~
Here I was, sat at our 12 seated dining table, at one head of the table. A plate of lasagne in front of me, most of it left untouched, and another plate identical mine at the opposite side of the table. However there was no one sat there, the plate left untouched and the food on it now cold. I wasn't surprised, and just smiled. I would be eating alone yet again tonight.
I looked at my phone, the text he had sent me 10 minutes ago there.
Liam:
working late, sorry
Of course.
As I flicked through our texts I found that very same text from him sent to me countless times. No kiss. No emotion.
I got up out of my chair and collected both plates of food. Walking over to the kitchen and scraping the untouched food in the bin. A routine I had become familiar with over the years. I would act like the good housewife I was expected to be, I would cook him meals, clean the house and be there for him when he wanted me. While he would take the role of the busy husband that was portrayed in every soap ever made, pretending to be the sweet and the loving husband he promised to be. Yet behind closed doors he would fuck his assistant in his office and whisper sweet nothings into his ear, then come home to me where I would pretend I was oblivious to his infidelity.
As that was expected of me.
~
Liam was sloppy when it came to his secrets and keeping them hidden. He also seemed to pin me down as a wide eyed, lovestruck partner that would never question him or his often late night disappearances like his friends wives. Except I wasn't.
I wasn't the dumb twink that would believe all the bullshit that fell out of his mouth. He should have known that, you would have thought he would from 10 years of marriage. I wasn't stupid, and when he came in at one o'clock in the morning, while I was pretending to be sound asleep as he slipped into our bed with the scent of that blonde slut of an assistant on his body.
It was almost insulting how dumb he took me for. He took me for a mug.
Except I was the mug. He had everything he could possibly want. A happy marriage to a guy that had no job and lived in a city with no friends or family so the only person he had was him, and on the side he had some cute twink with a plump ass who would let him fuck him any time. In addition to this he was the head of Payne Advertising, a multi-million pound advertising company which only grew in value and popularity with each day. He had it all.
What did I have? Nothing. I had no job, I left my job as a journalist when I decided to move to London with Liam. He was expected to take control of the company, become the head in their main office in the centre of London. I was in love and would follow Liam into a burning house, if asked to at the time. So I went with him, and I left everything behind to be with the man I believed I would be with for the rest of my life.
We came to London and I tried to find a job, but compared to the 'fresh out of prep-school' and 'my family has more money than sense' people going for the same jobs, I had no chance. Much to my surprise, the Liam that once encouraged me to go out and become a journalist was now wanting me to be a stereotypical housewife, effectively. He told me there was no point me working as he made enough money that I didn't need to. I was sceptical, but with how badly the job searching was going I agreed and became the stay at home husband was there to his every need.
~
I realised I had nothing a few years ago. Liam held all the cards in his hand. If we got divorced, he'd have the blonde twink, he'd have his company and he'd have his millions of pounds.
I was reliant on him. Which made me feel sick, I was my own person but I'd changed.
It was my sister who brought me out of my state of mind. She knew what was happening, I had told her. She was a lawyer for a well known firm in England and that's how I came to my position now. It was her that told me to get my back, I had to look out for myself.
In my office, in our house there was a box, something Liam knew nothing about. Then again he didn't care what I did during the day. In the box was the evidence I needed to make sure this marriage would be the end of him, and a new start for me. From photos of him and his little bitch getting it on in our bed while I was visiting my mum courtesy of a camera hidden in our room, to many papers that revealed the high amount of tax avoidance Liam had been getting up to. There was more documents that if released would destroy the company and his career. The longer he worked at the company, the more I noticed that money became something of up most importance to him. That's all he cared about, making money. Unfortunately that would be his downfall, as it's the ways he made this money that would destroy him.
I knew all of this thanks to an employee of Liam's, Harry.
He was a close friend of Liam's, both working in the company and both being exceptionally good at what they do. I met Harry at one of the company's charity events, he was a very cheery man, full of laughter. I suspected for a while he had a thing for me, at first I assumed it was just him being a little too friendly but after a drunk night out with him whispering how he would love to "fuck my bubble butt". I took him home and left, and avoided him for a while.
Well until I realised that I could use him to my own advantage.
So I would occasionally flirt with him, and he would get me information on Liam and the company that I asked for. At first I felt nothing but guilt, but then I reminded myself that my loving husband was cheating on me and seemed to show no remorse. Bending down to subtly show off my ass to some guy did not mean I was the same as him.
~
It was Friday night, and I was on my way to Liam's big night. He had managed to make a deal with a big car manufacturer, so Payne Advertising would now be responsible for the advertisement of one of the biggest car companies in the world. It was a huge achievement and there was a big congratulatory event going on.
Liam told me he had to finish up at the office, so he would meet me there. Which translated to he was going to be late because that blonde twink, who I refused to refer by his name, was going to suck him off to say congratulations.
Lucky him.
So I entered the hall rented for the evening. I walked into the main hall where most of the people were, associates of Liam's and workers. The hall was full of men in tailored suits and their wives hanging off their arm as they nodded and laughed when they were expected to. I couldn't judge though could I? I was just like them in a way. Only they had one aspiration, which was to see how much money they could squeeze out of a man with more money than sense but hanging on their arm and being there for their every whim.
That's one of the worst things about this whole thing. When I walked into the hall of rich men and their bit-on-the-sides, they all just saw me as another gold-digger. Except once upon a time me and Liam were happy, we were in love. And it was beautiful. Back then I wouldn't have cared if he was dirt poor with no job, as long as we were together. Nothing else mattered.
How fucking stupid I was.
People change, money corrupts people and I wasn't the same guy I was. I was in my mid 30's, there were guys that had better arse's, better bodies, sex drives that never seemed to wane which was more than enough temptation for Liam. We hadn't had sex in 6 months, and when we did he couldn't even look at my face.
I stood around, drinking whatever was the waiters were handing out. Then I saw Liam rush in, wearing a simple designed black tuxedo. It was slightly creased and his hair stood up in places like he had just woken up.
If only.
He caught sight of me and rushed over, dropping a chaste kiss on my forehead and wrapping his arm around my middle. He reeked of cheap cologne, the type of shit that his assistant wore. In addition to that, there was a faint hickey forming on his neck. Only really visible up close, and was mainly covered by the collar of his shirt.
He quickly greeted me, and then I followed him for the rest for the night as he spoke to each person there, thanking them for coming. I knew my role, I would stand there and smile and laugh at his jokes. That's what good husbands did, right?
I would pretend to be this person, this wide eyed guy that was utterly in love with his husband. I would play this role, the one expected of me until I was certain I had enough to destroy his life. That's if he didn't give me what I wanted. I was going to have a life, I wouldn't allow myself to be tossed aside and forgotten.
Why should I be trapped in this marriage with nothing, while he had everything.
I would make sure he suffered like he's made me suffer.