King of My Heart

9. "Do you think I cheated on you?"

(1101 words)

I was so proud of my husband because he loved me unconditionally, honoured and respected me, trusted and never doubted me. Seeing him so angry at me for the first time and the fact that he thought I was disloyal, tore me apart. Did he seriously think that I cheated on him?

"Do you think I cheated on you?" I asked him in a broken voice, speaking out my thoughts.

"No." Came his cold reply from where he was sitting—at his desk.

"Then why are you doing this to me? I didn't do anything, I swear." I spoke in my defence.

"It's not about what you did or didn't do. It's about what I saw, about how I told you to stay home." He argued.

"You're being so unreasonable. You're not making sense." I asserted.

"Oh who exactly is reasonable and makes sense, then? Caleb?" He bickered and my mouth hung open. That was the final blow to my heart. I had had enough.

"You know what? You can think whatever you want. You can believe those fake headlines and articles because clearly they're more trustworthy and credible than me," With that I headed for the door. "Oh and you're not my husband. You're not the Ethan I know. Because he would never doubt me even for a second, even if the whole world spoke against me. You are a changed man."

I made sure to close the door with force behind me as I went to sleep in another room. My hand rested on my stomach, cries escaping my mouth as I sank to the ground. That wasn't how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to tell him we were going to have a baby. He was supposed to be happy. We were supposed to be happy.

———

*ETHAN'S POV*

As I sat in my office, I found it nearly impossible to concentrate on work. Anastasia's innocent face stayed glued to my mind. I was ashamed of myself for speaking to her that way. I knew that she could never even imagine doing such a thing. I knew she was innocent yet I accused and hurt her. When she left our bedroom last night, my heart felt hollow without her presence and I realised my mistake. I wanted to go check on her, to make sure that she was alright but my stupid ego hindered me from doing so. How could I be so callous? How could I let my ego get in the way of our relationship?

My reaction was in no way justified, but I just couldn't control myself. From losing the deal to opening my phone to see photos of that despicable man holding my wife, I just lost it and when came I home, I released all my frustrations on Anastasia when all she did was embrace me lovingly.

I wanted to kick myself for hurting her but I still couldn't bring myself to apologise. It was highly unreasonable and insensitive of me, but those pictures of Caleb holding her, his stupid hand on her cheek kept flashing in my head, continually fuelling my rage and hindering me from apologising to Anastasia.

My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts and I checked the caller ID: Ariana. "Hey." I said to her, wondering if Anastasia told her about our fight.

"Hey, do you know where Ana is?" She asked and I frowned. She should be home as she doesn't have college today...

"Home?"

"No, she's not here and Sophia said that she hasn't seen her. I think something's wrong, her phone is also switched off." She said.

Ah. Here we go again. Another joke.

I couldn't comprehend why Anastasia would play another joke on me like that, especially the given circumstances.

"Uh huh I'm sure that's the case." I replied coldly.

"Ethan, I'm serious. Please find out where she is. I'm worried."

"Listen, Ariana. I'm busy. I have a lot of work to do and don't have time for this. I'm sure she's fine. Bye." And with that, I hung up without bothering to hear her reply.

———

I entered my bedroom only to find it empty. I went to check the bathroom but there was no sign of Anastasia.

She's probably in some other room, still mad at me.

I opened my laptop and began working on some documents.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in." I said.

"Hey Ethan, did you find out where Ana is?" Sophia asked and I looked up at her in confusion.

"What do you mean? Where is she?" I inquired.

"She went somewhere without notifying anyone this morning and it's 9 pm now. She's still not back. I thought you knew?" She said and I felt my heart beat quicken.

"Are you playing a joke on me?" I asked, hoping that this was the same case as my birthday.

"What are you talking about? It's not a joke. Your wife's missing and you're so chill and laid back when you should be looking for her!" She nearly shouted.

I wracked my brain for words. "Sophia, I'm sure this isn't as big a deal as you're making it to be. She must be at a friend's place or at her parents'. Please leave, I'll find out."

"She's not at her parents'. You can try calling her friends." She said and then finally left my room.

One by one I called all her friends. Iris, Sylvia, Elsa, Alyssa, Annie but none of them knew her whereabouts. Lastly I called Ahira.

"Ethan?"

"Ahira, where's Anastasia?" I asked the same question that I had asked the others, my patience giving in at that point.

"You are such a jerk! You claim to love her but when you got told that she's missing, you refused to lend an ear." She chastised.

"I—I thought Ariana was joking! It's all your fault for playing a joke like that on me on my birthday!" I retorted.

"Not everything is a joke, Ethan! God knows where and how she is. Now stop hanging around and actually do something to find her!" She said, her voice becoming louder and louder with every word she uttered.

"I—I'll find her." My voice came out feeble, my phone dropping from my hands.

I punched the mattress, screaming out in frustration.

This is all my fault. She's in danger because of me.

My phone rang and I desperately picked it up. "Hello?"

"Mr. Woods?" A male voice spoke.

"Yes?" I asked impatiently.

"This is officer David, calling to let you know that Aaron Brown was released on bail this morning."