“I can’t believe she lost her mind so badly.
Unbelievable.”
“Apologize! Kneel! Apologize! Kneel!”
I clenched my fists, and snarled at Sarah:
“So, Sarah, you’re using my husband being out of the country to do this, is that right?”
“Jake might not be back, but his assistant is
still here. I’m calling him, and he’ll show you
who the real wife is!”
I called Jake’s assistant, breathing heavily.
As I was dialing, Sarah flipped a stack of
papers at me:
“You don’t need some pathetic assistant.
Riley, open your eyes and take a good look!”
She held up the documents one by one:
“This is the deed to this house, everyone! It’s in my name!”
<
“This is the marriage certificate between me
and Jake, take a good look, Riley!”
“And last, Jake signed his name when I
signed up for the prenatal checkup! There
you go, all the proof you need.”
I grabbed the folder. There, at the bottom, in
familiar handwriting, was Jake’s signature.
This wasn’t possible. Jake had pursued me
for five years, and he’d been incredibly
devoted after our wedding. Unless he was
filming, he’s glued to my side.
How could he have cheated?
Countless questions flooded my head, as I
carefully examined the document, and then I
saw it, a small detail:
く
Sarah’s appointment date was last month on
the 6th.
That was my birthday! Jake spent the whole
day with me!
If the prenatal record was fake, then the
house deed and the marriage certificate must
be fakes as well. The audacity this woman
had, forging official documents.
I waved the papers in my hand, ready to tear
apart her charade, when Jake’s assistant, out
of breath, burst through the door.
My heart leaped with hope.
I had proof, and now I had a witness! Sarah,
tonight, I was going to expose you in front of
<
the entire internet!
“Assistant Steve…”
Sarah actually said my assistant’s last name
like she knew him.
I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they’d get
stuck, marched to the center of the couch,
and looked Steve in the eye.
“This woman claims to be Jake’s wife and
says he gave her this mansion. Have you ever
heard of such a thing?”
Sarah scoffed, “Okay Riley, this isn’t about
who yells the loudest. Steve, you’re with my
husband every day, tell everyone, who is
Jake’s wife?”
Steve’s face was pale, his eyes darting
く
between us. He took a breath, then said,
barely audible:
“Of course, Mrs. Sarah, you’re Jake’s wife.”
I rubbed my ears, completely shocked:
“Steve, are you out of your mind?
“Jake just had you deliver flowers to my
house the other day, did you forget?
“And, you were at our wedding! You…”
Before I could finish, Sarah slapped me, hard
across the face:
“You low–life! Stop fantasizing! You were
never going to have a wedding with my
Jake!”
“Now, we have proof, stop lying!”
My head was spinning. I grabbed Steve’s
sleeve, demanded to know why he was lying.
He just shook his head, insisted Jake was
married to Sarah.
On the giant screen, the hateful comments
were piling on:
[Riley is completely unhinged! Is she having a
psychotic break?]
[I don’t care if she has mental issues. She
tried to hurt Sarah today, tomorrow she’ll
have a miscarriage!]
[Right on! Riley the clout chaser and her little
bastard can both go to hell!]
く
The torrent of insults made my head spin.
But Jake is my husband!
He kissed me goodbye that morning before
he left. He promised to stay home with me
once he got back..
What was going on?
Was I getting cheated on?
No, impossible. We had a legal marriage
certificate.
He’s a movie star, but he can’t have two
wives, right?
Wait. In my confusion, I remembered the
propetal record from parlior
<
I held it up, pointing at the date:
“Sarah, you said Jake went with you to the
doctor. That’s impossible.
“That was my birthday. Jake was home all
day.”
Sarah just sneered. I looked at the live stream
audience:
“You’re all Jake’s fans, right? You can look it
up. Was Jake out at all on the 6th of last
month?”
The second I said it, a fan account replied:
[She’s right! I’m a Jake super–fan, I track
everything he does! He didn’t leave the house
on the 6th!]
<
The chat room went silent, everyone was
confused.
[That’s impossible! I got Jake’s autograph,
the signature is identical.]
[If he didn’t leave, then who went to the
hospital with Sarah? She can’t be imagining
her man.]
[This is getting weird. They both seem so
sure of themselves. Who is the real one?]
Sarah was also stunned, staring at the record,
lost in thought.
Steve, finally snapped, grabbed my arm and
tried to drag me to the door:
“Riley, you need to stop. Jake told me to
く
protect his wife.”
“Why are you trying to hurt her with all this
nonsense?”
“Are you trying to harm her child while Jake’s
away?”
I was so angry, I yanked away from him:
“You’re so blind!
“You work for my husband. How dare you
touch me?
“Don’t touch me, I’m calling the cops and
they’ll figure out what’s what!”
Sarah yelled, matching my volume:
<
“Call the cops, I’m not scared!
“I’m calling the cops, and they will arrest you
for trespassing!”
We both pulled out our phones to call the
police, when Steve stopped us.
“Guys, we should all just calm down. Calling
the cops…it’s going to create issues for
Jake.”
“What if we call Jake’s parents? They can
clear this up!”
I was furious, but his idea wasn’t half bad.
Jake’s a big deal, every step he takes is
watched. If this gets out, our family will be on
blast.
く
And, even though I don’t see her often, my
mother–in–law would recognize me!
I nodded, and reached for my phone, but
before I could hit dial, I looked at Sarah:
“Since it was your idea, you make the call.”
She probably paid off Jake’s assistant and
nanny, but she couldn’t have gotten my
mother–in–law’s number.
My mother–in–law prefers peace and quiet,
loves to paint, and stay out of the spotlight.
Sarah, a social media queen, couldn’t have
gotten to her, no matter what she bribed.
When I said it, Sarah smiled:
く
“What’s the matter Riley, don’t you have your
mother–in–law’s number?”
She pulled out her phone and said “Hi Mom!”
all sweet and innocent.
On the other end, a senior woman replied:
“Oh, my precious daughter–in–law, why are
you calling me today?”
Before calling, Sarah had turned up the
speaker for everyone to hear.
[Jake’s mom just acknowledged Sarah as his
wife! Riley, get down!]
[Nothing is more credible than what Jake’s
mother says!]
<
[Riley is so humiliated, this is hilarious. Is this
woman ever going to give up?]
How could this be happening?
I snatched the phone away from Sarah, my
voice cracking:
“Mom, what’s going on?
“I’m Riley, I’m your daughter–in–law.”
Sarah swiped the phone back, all nasty:
“Mom, Jake’s filming overseas, and this
woman, Riley, showed up out of nowhere and
says she’s carrying Jake’s baby. Isn’t she
gross?”
There was a long pause on the other end,
then a laugh:
“That’s hilarious, I guess any dog can try to
get some of our fame.”
“Don’t worry dear, I’ll get there and give her a
piece of my mind!”
And then, she hung up.
Sarah was beaming, but something wasn’t
right.