FLASHBACK
The man came home one day, and he was reeking of another woman's perfume.
He was drunk too, and totally useless when he got home. His wife, who was waiting for him like the obedient life partner that she was, knelt down to greet him as soon as he walked in through the door.
The man stopped when he saw the woman kneeling. There was a dazed look on his face, but it quickly morped into delight.
He stumbled towards her, holding his arms out.
"Suzie, darling. How wonderful to meet you at home. Are you my wife now?" he purred, his eyes glinting with desire as he stared at the woman.
The wife, who was still kneeling, grimaced. Her name was not Suzie. In that moment, the woman knew that her husband was cheating on her. He had been all along.
And now, he just called her the name of the other woman.
Unable to help herself, tears filled her eyes. After everything she had gone through for him, after every damn thing he had done to her, her husband still had the guts to cheat on her.
And here she was, helpless and unable to do anything about it.
The man walked closer and held out his hand.
"Come on, darling. Get on your feet. I need to see all of you," he purred, and as the woman stood up, she could not hide the shiver of disgust that rolled through her body.
The moment she stood up and the man met her eyes though, his expression changed. He blinked once. Then he blinked again.
And a sneer formed on his face.
"You are not Suzie," he quipped, his teeth snapping shut as anger began to blaze in place of his desire.
He stepped closer.
"I know who you are. You are the woman who wakes up on the left side of the bed next to me every morning. You are that other woman. What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice hard and cold and dangerous.
The woman shivered in fear. Whenever he was dead drunk, he always asked her who she was, and her answer was always the same.
"I am your wife," she said quietly.
"You are not Suzie." It wasn't a question. It was a fact, and one that the man was clearly displeased about.
"I am not."
"Why? I don't want you. I want Suzie. Why are you not Suzie? Why the fuck are you in my life?" he growled, his anger rising with each breath he took. The woman said nothing. Speaking out of turn would lead to another awful beating, and she really wasn't prepared for that.
So she shut her mouth.
She was used to this, of course. It was always Suzie. Always had been.
And for one crazy moment, the woman considered lying.
She wanted to tell him that she was Suzie, the love of his life. That she was whoever he wanted her to be, but the pathetic part of her wouldn't let the lie come out.
The woman wanted her husband to love her the way she was, and not because he thought she was another woman.
The man stared at her for a long moment, and her legs started to turn numb.
She wanted to move, but she didn't. No matter how much her legs ached, the woman knew that she dared not move an inch. He liked her quiet.
Silent. Unmoving. Like a statue.
Moving might lead to her getting beaten, and again, she didn't want that. Not tonight.
After what felt like forever, the man stepped back. He held his wife's gaze, and he spoke.
"You disgust me."
Then he turned around and left.
The woman kept standing even after he had left, her heart shattering into a million pieces.
The night turned out to be surprisingly pain free, seeing as he didn't hit her. But his words had already done enough damage, and the woman was so tired.
She wasn't Suzie. Of course she was not. She never had been.
But in her husband's eyes, that would probably always remain her greatest sin.
Sleep eluded her that night. And when dawn eventually made an appearance, the woman was so exhausted.
She barely managed to drag herself up from the couch where she spent the night before her husband walked into the living room.
He was sober, dressed for work, and had no words for his wife. He took one look at her, sneered, and dismissed her with a glance.
She wasn't worth anything to him, and they both knew that. Resigned to her fate, the woman was about to make her way back to her room when the man spoke.
"You have five minutes. Get dressed and meet me in the car."
The wife, who had no choice, took a hurried shower, got dressed, and got into the car. The man drove off without another world, and before long, they got to their destination.
It was a work event.
The moment they stepped out of the car, the cameras were on them. The man slipped his arm under her waist, and just like that, they became the perfect couple.
The woman smiled brightly, her eyes twinkling with joy as everyone took pictures of them. The man became touchy, always leaning down to kiss her on the lips, on the forehead, everywhere.
He touched her too, acting like an obsessed man who couldn't get enough of his wife.
The woman, who had become adept at hiding her bruises, flaunted a beautiful makeover that gave her the look of a woman that was utterly and absolutely loved by her husband.
When the frenzy eventually died down and the couple took their seats, the woman started to overthink.
What if her husband wasn't satisfied with her performance? He was probably going to hit her once they got home, and the thought made her shiver with fear.
Before she could dwell too much about it though, the man cleared his throat loudly enough to draw her attention.
A gorgeous woman had just taken the empty seat left at their table, and the husband was smiling at her.
He turned to his wife and spoke.
"Darling, meet Suzie. She's my business partner. Suzie, meet my wife."
The woman beamed at her husband, and the wife knew.
This was the woman her husband was in love with, the woman he was cheating on her with.
The woman she was supposed to be.