Chapter 21: His Wife

I touched my lips for the twelfth time as I was thinking about last night. I had no idea why Henry was behaving like that, but I felt so good in his embrace. When he kissed me, I felt amazing like I was the only girl he wanted. He embraced me and convinced me to sleep with him on a single bed. It was beautiful to experience it.

I didn't understand why his touch melted me down despite knowing that he would never love me. I didn't want to think about him, but it seemed like he had trapped my mind. No matter how many times I tried to brush away his thoughts but I could stop myself.

I sighed and entered the kitchen. "Good morning," I said to Jessica. She was watching something on her phone as she didn't acknowledge my presence. "Jessica." I shook her shoulder softly.

"Oh…sorry." She quickly put down her phone on the kitchen counter and turned towards me.

"What were you watching? Is there something very interesting on your phone?"

"You don't know?" She asked, frowning.

"What?"

"The latest viral video. The supermodel Lisa fell off the stairs because of her cheap quality heels."

"What! Show me." I snatched the phone from the counter and played the video. I saw when Lisa stepped onto the stairs, suddenly she lost her balance and fell off the stairs, catching everyone's attention. Her cheeks turned tomato red with embarrassment. She quickly got to her feet. But the paparazzi had already caught her and snapped dozens of pictures. I was feeling pity for her as her face formed into a crybaby. The next thing I knew, Henry had reached out to her and was carrying her in his arms bridal style, heading straight to the elevator.

Just wait. But on that day, they both had sex.

"Ah…Henry, you're hurting me."

"Please, be gentle."

"I'll ask Nina to bring a fresh pair of clothes for you."

Their words echoed in my ears.

Shit!

I mistook him. On that day, he was helping her, and I thought they were sleeping. God. Why didn't he tell me the truth?

"Why do you look so shocked?" Jessica asked.

"Nothing." I shook my head. "Poor woman. She looks like she is about to cry in the video."

"Yes, she got what she deserved. She is a real bitch!" She said, and I broke into a laugh.

"She is indeed a real bitch," I agreed while counting the number of times she humiliated me in front of the public.

"You were there at the party. Why didn't you know that?" She asked curiously.

"I-I was…" How could I tell her I fell asleep at the bar counter?

"Hey, beautiful women." Suddenly, a female voice interrupted our conversation.

We snapped our heads at her and found Sarah. She stood in front of us and looked beautiful in her purple dress.

"What a surprise." I smiled and reached for her, pulling her into a hug. "So happy to see you here."

"I missed you," she mumbled like a baby. I pulled myself back, examining her face. She had dark circles underneath her eyes and her face looked pale.

"You look weak. Is everything okay?" I checked her forehead to check her body temperature. It was normal.

"Yep. A little tired," she groaned, threw her purse on the couch, and plopped into the chair.

"What would you like to take?" Jessica asked her.

"Nothing. One glass of water is enough for me," Sarah said and straightened herself, pulling me down next to her. "Alice, I'm very disappointed with you."

"Disappointed, but why?" I frowned in confusion. "I don't know what you are talking about, Sarah?"

She scanned my face for a while before taking hold of my hands in hers and looking into my eyes. "What happened to you that party night? You didn't even bother to tell me once. I wouldn't have known about it if Vivian hadn't told me."

"I…don't know if…" I sighed and closed my eyes briefly.

"Hey, I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable while talking about that night again. But I just want to tell you I'll always be there for you if you want to talk to me. You didn't even mention your father's surgery. I felt bad when I heard about this from others."

"Does this also come from Vivian?" I asked quickly, and if she said yes, I would kill Vivian.

She sighed. "No. Joseph."

"I'm sorry, Sarah, but I didn't want to bother you. At the time of my father's surgery, you were in Italy."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm regretting it. Whenever you needed me, I was not there for you." She averted her eyes to hide her disappointment.

I shook my head. "No, it's not your fault."

"But still I wanted to help you."

"You have already helped me a lot, Sarah." I squeezed her hand.

Jessica handed her a glass of water, and Sarah gulped the entire content at once. "Let's have dinner together. It's been a long time since we last had dinner together. And there are a lot of things I want to share with you."

"That sounds great!" I chirped in excitement.

*****

"When I woke up, I was in his house and his shirt." I sighed. Finally, I'd told everything to Sarah.

"In his shirt." She glanced at me, smiling. "That looks romantic."

"Shut up, Sarah! This is awful. You don't know how embarrassed I was feeling when I found myself in his shirt. He is a married man. How could he make me wear his shirt? He could have used his wife's clothes." I didn't meet Vivian's wife, and I was wondering where she was when I was in Vivian's room. I twisted my head to Sarah when she didn't speak for a few minutes. "Say something."

She glanced at me, and grief washed over her face. She swallowed before forcing out, "His wife passed away three years ago."

My eyes widened in shock as I watched her and processed her words in my head. His wife passed away. When I didn't speak, Sarah went on. "You know he used to be a man of every girl's dream, funny, loving, and handsome. Once upon a time, he was my crush." She laughed at those memories. "Then Isabella came into his life." She glanced at me as she studied my expression. "His wife. They both fell in love with each other. They loved each other like there was no tomorrow. I and Ava were envious of them. And silly Ava, she always wanted Henry to love her like Vivian loved Isabella."

"How did his wife die?" I asked, curious.

"You remember the man Eric Wilson on that day in the mall. He is Isabella's brother. He was against their relationship; he never wanted Isabella to end up with Vivian. Then one night she disappeared. The days had passed but we couldn't find her." She sighed for a long moment before continuing. "Finally, we found her dead body in one of the hotel rooms. The cause of her death was an overdose of drugs."

I didn't know when tears formed in my eyes and fell down my cheeks. I was feeling pain for the woman I had never met in my life. I swallowed a lump in my throat. "And what about his daughter?"

"Harley was only two back then." Sarah glanced at me briefly while driving. "She already had lost her mother and then her father."

"Father?" I frowned.

"After Isabella's tragic death, Vivian was no longer the same person. No matter how many times he tried but he couldn't pull himself together. The darkness was swallowing him as he was blaming himself for his wife's death."

"It's unbearable. I thought he was a criminal who only knows how to kill people for his own benefit."

She shook her head. "No! He was being forced to adopt this business. After his wife's death, all he wanted was power and violence. He wanted to destroy the man who had destroyed his world." She paused for a moment. "But I've known him for a very long time, he is a good man, a good husband, and a good father."

"Can you drop me at Vivian's place? I want to return his shirt," I said, and she nodded.

After a while, Sarah dropped me at Vivian's house. I walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Five minutes had passed, and no one answered. I rang one more time, and this time an elderly woman answered the door.

She scanned me from head to toe. "You are the same woman on that day."

"Yeah." I nodded and smiled. "Can I meet Mr. Miller?"

"Please, come on in…" She stepped back, letting me inside. I looked around the empty living room. "Please sit down, Miss. I'll inform Mr. Miller right away." I nodded and sat down on the couch. She walked away and disappeared around the corner.

After a few minutes, she came back. "He wants to meet you in his room," she said and led me to the third room on the second floor.

When I reached his room, I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. After a moment, a young and beautiful woman opened the door.

"Mr. Miller." I hesitated.

She nodded and stepped back. I entered the room and the first person I saw was Harley. She was gripping her tummy and laughing at something. I frowned and followed her eyes to see the person whom she was laughing at. I saw a woman who wore a floor-length red gown and blonde hair. But she looked strange. She had a muscular body and a very strong physique like a man. I couldn't see her face because of her back in front of me.

"Where is Mr. Miller?" I asked that young woman.

She jerked her chin at the muscular woman. When she turned around, my jaw dropped. Vivian was wearing a red gown that gripped his very muscular body and his hair covered with a blond hair wig.

Suddenly, my surprise was replaced with laughter. I laughed out loud. "You…" I couldn't form a word and broke into another laugh.

"What the fuck are you laughing at?" Vivian gritted out.

I bit into my lower lip to stop myself from laughing. "You look funnier than a clown."

"Shut up!" Vivian growled and advanced on me, but something slipped from his gown and rolled down across the floor.

I picked up an orange. "Oops, your boobs!" I stifled my laugh.

"Viv, you're going to embarrass me," Harley said with a big and cute pout.

"No, sweetheart. I won't. Can't you see how beautiful I am looking?" Vivian smiled and twirled around.

"Why do you wear a gown?" I asked.

"School is going to organize photoshoots of the kids with their parents. But they have conditions. The girls are going to shoot with their mother and boys with their father." He looked at his daughter. "And my baby girl needs a mother."

I forget. Our school was going to organize a photoshoot of children with their parents. So that they could make memorable diaries for them. But to be honest, I hated their condition. The girls would have to bring their mother and boys to their father.

Vivian sighed and asked me, "By the way, why are you here?"

"I came here to return your shirt," I said and removed his shirt from my handbag.

"You should have thrown it away because I'm going to wear it," Vivian said and eyed his shirt in my hand.

I approached him and held his hand before putting his shirt on it. "Thank you for your shirt. I should have thrown it away, but it's too expensive to be in the trash."

Ignoring him, I kneeled in front of Harley. "Do you like chocolates?" I asked her and caressed her silky golden hair. She was so beautiful, like Ava.

When she nodded, I dug my hand into my bag and brought out a box of chocolates. I looked at the innocent and cute little girl who had been suffering for three years. I wanted to embrace her tightly and gave her so much love. I wanted to give her all the happiness that she deserved. "Here you go." I held out the box, and she quickly grabbed it.

I sighed and turned my head to Vivian. "If you don't mind, can I ask you something?"

"Yes."

"Can…" I swallowed. It was difficult to ask him this question, but I had to do this. "Can I play the role of her mother? Only for the photoshoots." Vivian's eyes widened in surprise as watched in disbelief. Before he could yell at me, I explained, "I know it looks strange, but I want to make your daughter happy."

After a few beats of silence, his lips formed into a beautiful smile. He was happy for his daughter and I knew he would not refuse my offer. When I first met him, he was ruthless and arrogant. I hated him so much. But when I came to know his truth, I respected him more. He was a loving and caring father.

Finally, Vivian gave me a nod of agreement. I was going to do anything for his daughter's happiness.