Emily's POV
Seated before the desk in the office, the investors were discussing among themselves. I had just pitched a really good deal to them, and I was waiting for their response. Even though I knew too well I had given them an offer they knew they would be stupid to reject, I still waited like I was clueless about their next action. My fingers were tapping simultaneously on the desk. I was anxious.
I checked my phone, hoping to see my husband's message but there was none. Henry has been out of the country for three days, and in those three days he had only sent me three text messages.
'Make sure you visit the company today.'
'Don't forget the project I told you about; get it done.'
'Tell me, which is better, diamond or gold?'
My responses to those texts were not acknowledged, but I knew he saw them. But he wouldn't answer if I asked him why, so I waited for him to come back today.
Now fast forward to the present; the investors had just finished speaking with themselves, and they turned towards me now.
"Well, Mrs. Musk, we have all agreed, and we would like to be a part of your project," their speaker said. I beamed with joy.
"I am so glad I could convince you to join us, and it was nice having all of you here. By the way, my husband would be delighted that you made it," I stated. One of the investors stared at me, giving me a questioning look.
"Where is Mr. Musk, by the way?"
"Oh, he went on a trip to Brooklyn; he couldn't make it, but I will send your regards to him" he nodded in response, then they all stood up to leave.
With that, they passed their gratitude before walking out of the office. Now I took my phone and I called Henry again, but it switched to voice mail.
"Babe, the least you can do is return the calls; it's been three days now; where the hell are you?" I ended the voice message then strode out of the office in sheer annoyance.
It was my children's school presentation, and I had to be there, but they would have loved it if their father was there, and it hurt even more to know I would have to make up an excuse where he missed their presentation; at some point I was starting to feel like he didn't care at all.
I took the elevator down to the garage, then towards my car. My reflection showed on the window of my car, making me smile.
For the first time in four years, I was proud of how I looked. The results of my strict diet and exercise were starting to show up. It was hard to get back in shape after the depression that came with postpartum, but somehow I did, and it was one of my greatest achievements.
My hands forked my hair, and my fingertips strolled down the corner of my chin. Insecurity was a killer of joy. A long while ago I had added a couple of pounds and developed a double chin, and Noah, my little boy, had referred the flap below my jaw to that of a turkey; he was an innocent child, but something in me died that day, but I had to wear a proud smile because he kissed me afterwards, and he called me beautiful.
Grace was older; she liked the fullness of my body when she came to hug me. Henry had demanded I worked from home just to stop the propaganda in the media, which I adhered to for years while I battled addiction. I had tried and I had failed several times, knowing that the cause of my addiction was none other than fear.
Stress eating was a challenge; it was as detrimental as cocaine addiction. I had locked myself in a void room just to keep myself away from food for a mere five hours. And after a year of mental torture, I broke free, and I went back because food had become my solace in times of distress and great depression.
So no one knew how proud I was to see my reflection; it was an instant gratification that I now had control over my thoughts and my emotions.
The news had gotten out to the public already, and I had been called to speak on my addiction to food and how I overcame it today. The first hosts were my kids' school, which was why I wanted Henry to be a part of it today. I had gained my confidence, and I wanted to speak about our marriage. How he had been distant and also the cause of my addiction.
I hit the accelerator, my engines roared to life while I drove all the way to their school, my notification bell chimed, I was so enthusiastic to get it, I could swear it was Henry because his texts were so rare and had a different ringtone for it.
So I took the phone; indeed, it was Henry, he sent a couple of pictures but they were all set to view once.
My excitement knew no bounds; I quickly slid up to his chat, then tapped on it, and just like that, my eyes witnessed the unimaginable.
Shivers of flames coursed through my veins; for a second I thought the world had come to an end, and somehow I was trapped in a haze as I stared at the photos before me.
Several photos were being sent, all in the same format; I tapped them consecutively, and all were pictures of a lady in Henry's arms, one where he was on his knees proposing to a lady, some of them kissing, and him between her thighs.
My heart skipped.
I refused to believe what I had just witnessed, so I hurriedly checked for my other phone close by, and I took a picture of them being intimate , just to confirm it wasn't some bad dream.
I played the video just below it, and there it was: Henry was on his knees, beside this very lady, and he proposed to her. I watched him stand from where he kneeled, and he held her beside, kissing her while she danced and cheered.
The next picture contained a gold ring, the same one he had used to propose to her.
I had no idea what was going on around me at that moment, all I knew was that my heart was beating way faster now, and I could feel the rhythm all around.
'He's my husband now' came another text. But was deleted afterwards.
My finger jittered, and my phone fell down. I had only realized I had tears in my eyes when my vision became blurry.
'Impossible… ' I thought.
I tried taking the phone again to check what had happened, but it had all vanished to thin air.
My heart ached so bad . After a few minutes of panic attack, another notification came through, I hurriedly checked it. It was the teacher from my kids' school.
She wanted me to come early since I would be one of the speakers at the party. I dried my eyes while staring at the rear view mirror; my eyes focused on the road as I exhaled through my mouth.
I wrapped the steering wheel with my fingers then proceeded to drive towards the school in hopes that no one would notice that my day had been damaged completely.
Minutes passed, and I was in the school. I saw my little girl on the stage; she was putting on a bee costume, and my son wore a knight costume, and I was in the front row, specially prepared for VIP guests.
The moment my daughter saw me, her eyes lit up, and she waved at me.
"Mummy!" She yelled.
"Go baby girl!" I responded.
Followed by Noah, I waved at him too, then cheered him up.
The musical instrument started, and they hopped and danced around, and I clapped for them, but my heart was breaking, and I knew in a split second I would be in tears.
But rather than actually focusing on what the kids were doing, what came to my mind was, how long? Why did he send me those videos? I was no fool, so it wasn't a prank, so how fucking long! Has it been going on? That was why he traveled?the rings…
Tears pricked my eyes, but I cleaned it. I would not try before my children.
"Woah, go girl!" I yelled.
After the presentation was done, I was led to the stage to talk. Bile rose in my throat. I wanted to opt out at the last minute, but there were more parents here and more reporters brought by the school. All were waiting for my speech, so I took on the challenge and walked to the stage.
Every word I said felt like a lie, but I kept a straight face. I told them to be good kids and love their parents. I told the parents present to love their kids, and their husbands should love their wives just like Henry loved me and supported me. I told them about my goal to lose weight, and they could see the evidence of determination.
All I had said was what was true to me until two hours ago, and when I left that stage and everyone cheered for me, I knew for a fact that I was just a step closer to ruining my life and the reputation of my kids.