For ten years, I , Cherry Golden Rich was the perfect wife, the perfect employee, and the perfect mother. I prided myself on how seamlessly I managed to navigate both worlds , ever smoothly and seamlessly balancing the very demanding projects at Rich Enterprises with the never -ending domestic responsibilities at home.
Early mornings would find me in the kitchen at 4:00 am cooking breakfast for my husband and our lovely twins, while evenings saw me enthusiastically burning the midnight oil in the study , sorting through piles of financial reports, and pitching the best ideas that would generate millions for the company, yes I was " the Donna woman" ,a versatile wife , the whole 1000 yards _ or so I thought .
I was really proud of our life, our success, and of him - my husband.
Alexander -the man I had loved, the man I would give my everything for and even grow old with, the only man who rocked my world for as long as I remember, who promised me a blissful marriage and a future full of perfect love and loyalty. Together, we were the power couple in every sense, we were couple goals for most people. He was the Handsome charismatic CEO, and I was his Beautiful strategic second-in-command, eagerly pushing him to new heights .
For the last few years , Rich Enterprises had experienced alot of growth over the past few years and Alexander has had to travel in and out so much more than usual to meet with countless company partners ,even though he'd taken some time to rest this period , hes still barely home and even at home he spends time mostly in his study, making calls and planning meetings and he'd become even more distant than ever, we hadn't gone on any dates in a pretty long while and now he barely ate at home even when he was around, despite this, I remained patient, it's probably because he's stressed out from so much work and he can't manage everything the way I can.
Everything I did or even wished for knowingly or unintentionally in the last eight years was for him and our family but I never saw what was coming, the greatest shock I'd received in a very long time , but then again, maybe I should have.
So , it was a pretty cool Tuesday afternoon , our twins, Lily and Maxey were to start kindergarten that day , and I had spent the morning taking first day at school photos of them and kissing their cute little faces goodbye.
Even though they we'rent my biological children I loved them with every piece of my heart.
Not that I couldn't get pregnant but due to a life of so much work and travel, I couldn't stay pregnant until due time , there was no time to rest. Besides, my husband Alexander has told me how much he loves my body so I wasn't I didn't worry about it . Four years ago , Alexander saved me the trouble and adopted Max and Lily for us when they were a year old.
The next day - Wednesday would be Alexander's birthday and we could have some guests come over to party, this meant I would need to go to the grocery store to get some things in preparation to celebrate a new year added to my dear husband life .
He had been in the study since early hours today so I went into his study to check up on him .
" Hey baby The kids are off to school now , we thought you'd join us for the photoshoot " I said.
Alexander looked sternly ate an replied
"No you didn't, you know ive been busy in here and your telling me about photography"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to make a fuss" Cherry said quietly.
"Well don't".
So I went back upstairs to have a quick shower, then I moisturized and got into a nice pair of Jeans and a nice cotton sweatshirt and I made my way out of the house. On my way to Give and Takes Supermarket, I made a mental list of the things I needed to buy, its a fifteen minutes drive to the store, I went in and bought some Turkey, spices and vegetables with a few bottles of wine . Then I walked into the luxury clothing store just a few shops away but on the same block to pick up something nice for the love of my life , after all tomorrow is his birthday and I wanted to buy him a nice fashionable piece of clothing for his birthday this year.
As I walked down the aisles of clothing, I carefully scanned through these expensive clothing items, I picked out a fine Italian Olive colored Todd Snyder Jacket, yes this was the perfect piece, it exudes the class and calibre my Alex is made of, I bought the jacket and made my way to the exit.
As I drove away from the boutique a few blocks from the store, I noticed an antique store, they must've opened recently as I doubt that I'd seen this store on this street before, I do most of my grocery shopping at Gives and Takes.
Seeing an antique store after a long while made me think of what our lives had been years before now.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and admiration for the man I loved. His father had purchased the company RichTech formerly called EngineCorp from its original owners years ago, and despite facing numerous challenges, he had managed to keep it afloat. However, it was clear that the company had been struggling to reach its full potential, and it wasn't until Alexander inherited it that things began to turn around.
With his sharp business acumen and unwavering determination, Alexander had thrown himself into the task of revitalizing the company. And I, as his wife and partner, had been by his side every step of the way. Together, we have worked tirelessly to identify areas for improvement, implement new strategies, and explore innovative ideas to drive growth.
I had always been happy to share my own ideas and insights with Alexander, and he had always welcomed my input and encouraged my participation. As a result, I have contributed significantly to the company's success. With my help, he had been able to raise the company's value by billions, a feat that had left industry experts and investors alike in awe.
Alexander's business savvy and leadership abilities had been the perfect complement to my creative thinking and problem-solving skills.
As his wife, I had taken on a dual role - that of a loving partner and a trusted business advisor. I had poured my heart and soul into helping Alex achieve his goals, and it had been an incredible journey.
My contributions went far beyond just being a supportive partner. I had been a constant source of innovative ideas, always pushing Alex to think outside the box and explore new opportunities. My creativity and business acumen had proven to be a valuable asset to the company, and Alex often joked that I was the secret to his success.
I sat there in my car blankly staring at the antique store shop deep in taught so decided that I would go in and have a look so I parked at the front and went Inside.
I checked out the store and my eyes caught a beautiful set of twin Jade stone bowls ,they looked really attractive and even though I didn't need them ,I could only think of taking them home with me.
I turned to face a miniature Mercedes 300SL sitting on a rack which immediately took my mind back to my high school and college years when I aspired to grow up and live in luxury as a superstar lady with a big empire who would own many properties and travel the world.
I missed being that confident and ambitious young woman but life's different now and Im just as happy as I would have been.
I guess being Alex's wife makes me feel just as satisfied, this is what life is now and I was happy as long as I was satisfying Alexander, my Alpha male husband. I needed to get back home on time to continue with my preparations for my husband's birthday dinner tomorrow and to finish up some presentation slides that I was working on for an upcoming meeting. With this realization, I picked up the marble set paid for it and went back home.
When I got home, I set the groceries on the kitchen table and went upstairs to freshen up.
Alexander was in our bedroom, I actually missed him and even though we've been arguing a lot because he seemed to get annoyed with me more often than not and though I never understood why , I simply attributed it to work and stress and I was determined to do better at making him happy with me, after all I'm his wife , it's what I'm there for.
I walked into the bedroom with a little smile , he barely raised his eyes to look at me when he handed me the stack of documents. "I will need you to sign these immediately , Cherry . " he said, without even an ounce of emotion. I assumed ,it was some new contract, perhaps an agreement for the new venture he'd had me work on for Rich Enterprises.
But lo and behold, I saw the word "divorce" staring back at me in bold black ink, I froze.
"What's this?" I asked Alexander, with my voice hollow.
And without caring to look at me
"I don't believe I owe you any explanation but I'm in Love with someone else." he said, his eyes scanning the office like he had more important matters to tend to.
"You can leave now, Cherry . I don't want her to be called a mistress."
I felt the world shift beneath me. Why would he do this ?what did I do? What have I ever done all these years apart from love him, sacrifice everything in my life and put my whole heart and mind into building a life with this man and his family?.
There I stood , too stunned to speak and my hands trembling as I clutched the papers, then with the faintest voice, all I could muster was a single question. " So ,what am I then ?"
He smirked and looking at me with a cold, calculating expression that chilled me to the bone, he answered ,
"You're my Ex-wife now ,Cherry. "
The days following this revelation felt like a blur. Alex changed very fast and I couldn't believe this was the man I'd known for over ten years.I moved through life as if I were on autopilot, going through the motions but feeling utterly torpid and detached from reality.
I didn't own much apart from Alexander, I barely owner anything apart from what Alexander left for me after the divorce.
Many months passed this was a year after the Divorce now , Alex treated me like utter trash, for some reason I continued working at Rich Enterprises , I couldn't bring myself to leave.
I tried to speak to Alex to find out why he would just leave me, our marital issues were not something that even happy marriages didn't experience why did he choose to leave? But he never gave me any audience, he acted as though we never shared anything serious.
My heart was just numb, and my mind refused to process the enormity of what had happened.
Alexander had left me for Claire his new assistant and the real mother of Max and Lily whom he introduced to me barely 5 months before the divorce ,a younger, prettier version of myself, perhaps more compliant and less opinionated.
I was a shell of my former self, walking through the rooms filled with memories, now tainted by betrayal. Every corner of the house echoed with laughter that once was but now was a painful reminder of what had been lost.
And then there was work. Alexander and I built the company together, but now I was just an employee, watching from the sidelines as Claire paraded around, taking my place both at home and in the office. Her smug glances, the whispers from colleagues, the pitying stares—it was all too much. But I held on, determined not to crumble. I couldn't afford to.
But even the strongest of walls crack under pressure, and one fateful night, after putting the twins to bed, I stood on the balcony of my penthouse apartment, looking down at the busy city streets below. The weight of everything crushed me. The thought of a life without purpose, without love, without him—was unbearable.
I didn't think twice. I just stepped off.