Romance

My Wife

by Sugar Cookie

My wife, Calista Wright, is known for being calm and aloof about everything. Even after three years of marriage, I have never seen her react emotionally to anything.When Wright Group becomes publicly listed, she simply says, "Got it."When her mother, Sally King, goes into surgery, she waits outside the operating room without so much as a frown on her face. Once it ends, she even tells me, "The surgery's done, so stop looking so worried."This whole time, I've simply assumed she's a stoic person by nature, incapable of feeling intense emotions. That changes when I inadvertently notice something on her fitness watch.Over the course of the last two weeks, she has recorded six instances of an abnormal spike in her heart rate, always at around 6:20 am.What could possibly make someone who is perpetually unruffled suddenly experience a heart rate of over 130?Two weeks later, my older brother, Tyler Manning, gets a divorce and moves back in with our parents. Just as I pass by the study at Wright Manor, I overhear a conversation between Calista and her father, Owen Wright.He asks her, "It's been years. Are you still in love with Tyler?"After a long silence, Calista replied, "Yes. I've been in love with him since the day I first met him in high school."Sally sighs. "Then why did you marry his brother?"Calista lowers her head and starts fiddling with her wedding ring, but her tone remains cool and unaffected, as if she's making an offhand remark about a business transaction."The Mannings weren't going to hold out for much longer back then. It didn't matter who I married anyway. At the very least, by marrying Joel, I had a legitimate reason to give the Mannings the investment they needed. That way, Tyler's in-laws wouldn't look down on him."Standing outside the study door, I think back to the six times Calista's heart rate had spiked.It just so happens that Tyler leaves the house for his morning runs at around 6:20 am each day.This is how I find out that Calista's heart is capable of racing, but only for someone else. At the same time, my heart finally stills.

Loading your library and reading data…