I Was Never the Wife

I'd been "married" to Zachary for two years—until I tried applying for a loan and the bank's system flagged someone else as his legal wife.

Our wedding? Just a private show. The real marriage license had his name next to hers.

So yeah. I wasn't the wife. I was the other woman.

Crushed, I went home—only to hear Zachary talking to his friend, Ethan, by the door.

"Man, watching you stress is exhausting," Ethan said. "You clearly love Sierra. So why marry Cathryn?"

Zachary looked torn. "At first, she was just a stand-in. But when she left, I couldn't stop thinking about her. So I brought her back—as my assistant."

He paused, then muttered, "I can't live without Sierra. But I can't let go of Cathryn either. So I gave Sierra my love in public and kept Cathryn hidden with the title. That's fair, right?"

I stood frozen, heart splitting open.

He loved us both.

Me—his childhood sweetheart.

Her—the hidden wife.

I thought I was the one.

Turns out, I was just the game.

He didn't break my heart. He shattered my whole world.

But I didn't cry. I didn't scream.

I walked away.

And started planning two things.

In year two of my so-called marriage to Zachary Jurg, I tried applying for a joint bank loan to launch a business.

The bank guy kept flipping his eyes between our marriage certificate and his screen, looking more confused by the second. Finally, he said, "Ms. Arden, this marriage certificate's not valid. You're showing up as single in our system."

I blinked. "That can't be right. We got married—registered everything two years ago."

He leaned in, frown deepening. "The system has you as single. But Zachary Jurg? He's married."

Then he spun the monitor toward me.

"His spouse is listed as Cathryn Sludd. Because of that, I can't approve your loan."

I stared at the screen, frozen. "Cathryn Sludd"—her name cut through me like a knife. Every breath felt like it was slicing me open.

My head spun. Everything went black.

When I came to, the staff had already helped me into a chair.

I choked out a plea for them to double-check. They did.

And that broke me.

It was like drowning in ice-cold darkness, everything else just...gone.

Eventually, I got up and walked out. Somehow.

I wandered the streets like a leaf caught in the wind—empty, lost.

Then my phone buzzed.

It was Zachary.

[Baby, I skipped a big meeting just to see you. Got your favorite strawberries 'cause I missed you like crazy. Did you miss me?]

That was it. I broke.

Tears just poured.

Two years of texts like that. Two years of 'I love you.'

But now? I couldn't tell if any of it was ever real.

Zachary and I had history—like, childhood-level history. Everyone knew I was his girl. The one he loved. The one he was supposed to wait for.

Cathryn? She was just a placeholder while I was overseas. Or at least, that's