My Husband Forgot Me

I was there with my husband when we started from scratch, moving from a rundown shack to a massive mansion.

On the day the company went public, he showed up at the celebration with a young woman on his arm.

He introduced her to the crowd, "This is my love, Ms. Barrett."

Someone asked, "What about your wife?"

He just smiled. "That old ball and chain at home? She doesn't belong at an event like this."

I stood quietly at the back of the crowd, holding a glass of champagne.

Then the screen behind him lit up, starting a video about the company's history.

At the end of the video, a chart of the company's ownership structure appeared.

My name and photo were clearly under the "Largest Shareholder" section, with a 51% stake.

A clip started playing. A younger version of my husband, looking shy, said, "Everything I have, I owe to my wife. Without her, none of this would exist."

...

The smile froze on Nikolas's face.

The room went quiet for a second, then erupted into a wave of whispers.

All eyes were darting between Nikolas Davis, me, and Lydia Barrett beside him.

Everyone was watching the drama unfold.

"Did they mess up?" "I thought Ms. Barrett was Mr. Davis's love?"

"Willow Cooper... I've never heard the name, but that's definitely her in the photo."

"51%? So she's the real boss? Mr. Davis just works for her?"

Lydia's face went pale, and she let go of Nikolas's arm.

Nikolas was quick. He grabbed the mic and forced a laugh.

"Looks like our tech guys had a bit too much to drink and played the wrong video. That was just a joke from way back when we started out. Don't take it seriously."

He said it while staring straight at me, his eyes full of warning.

I set my glass down. The clink of the glass hitting the surface was sharp and clear, cutting through the noise.

I met his gaze and smiled.

His eye twitched.

He shoved the mic at the host, pushed through the crowd, and stormed over to me.

His hand closed around my wrist, his grip so tight I thought the bone would snap.

"Willow, what the hell are you trying to pull?"

He hissed through gritted teeth, every word dripping with anger.

He dragged me roughly into a backstage lounge.

The door slammed shut, blocking out all the noise from outside.

"Are you out of your mind? Embarrassing me like this in front of everyone?"

He grabbed my shoulders, his face twisted with rage.

"I'm embarrassing you?" I looked right at him. "Nikolas, was what was on that screen a lie?"

He was stunned. "That was then! Why are you digging up ancient history?"

He let me go, frustrated. "You need to get out there right now and tell everyone it was a joke!"

The door flew open, and Lydia ran in, crying. "Nikolas..."

Her body trembled as she threw herself into his arms.

"Willow, I know you don't like me. But today was the most important day of Nikolas's life. Why would you try to ruin him?" She sobbed, looking at me with tear-filled eyes. "Do you feel like I took your place? I can go. I'll leave right now. Please, just stop making a scene, okay?"

Lydia was so fragile.

Nikolas held her tighter, his heart breaking for her. When he looked back at me, his eyes were ice cold.

"Did you hear that? Even a girl so much younger than you gets it. She's more mature than you.

Willow, I'm giving you one last chance. Go out there and clear this up. Otherwise, don't blame me for disregarding all the years we had together."

"Years together?" I chuckled. "What's left of that between us, Nikolas? Nikolas, that 51% share? I bought it with the inheritance my parents left me. And what you said in that video? That was true too. Everything you have today, I gave it to you. Now, I'm taking my things back."

Nikolas's face went stiff.

Lydia, still in his arms, stared at me with wide eyes.

"Willow, say that again?"

Nikolas's voice was icy.

I repeated, word by word. "I said, I'm taking back everything that belongs to me. Including this company, the mansion, and that custom suit you're wearing."

His chest heaved violently.

"On what grounds?"

"Because I'm the majority shareholder of Timeless Elegance."

Timeless Elegance was the high-end fashion brand we built together.

I was in charge of design and craftsmanship; he handled operations and networking.

I preferred quiet, hated the spotlight, so for all these years, he was always the one out front as the face of Timeless Elegance.

The world knew Nikolas as the young, self-made genius. Nobody knew about the woman behind him.

Even less did they know that the true foundation of Timeless Elegance was me.

"Willow, don't push your luck,"

Nikolas's patience ran out.

"Without me, what good are you with a pile of rags? I'm the one who brought to Timeless Elegance where it is today! I made you, and I can break you just as easily. You think I can't make it without you?"

I looked at his face, twisted with anger, and it felt unfamiliar.

Ten years ago, he held my hand in our shabby rented apartment, his eyes shining.

"Willow, believe me. Someday, I'll make you the happiest woman in the world. I'll get your designs on the biggest stage."

Ten years later, the biggest stage had arrived, but the woman by his side had changed.

I'd become the unpresentable housewife at home.

"Nikolas, I want a divorce."

I said it calmly. My heart was strangely still.

He stared, stunned.

Lydia stopped her fake sobbing and watched us.

"Divorce?"

Nikolas laughed like it was a joke.

"Willow, are you out of your mind? What do you have without me? You can't even support yourself!"

"I don't need you to support me."

I took out my phone and played a recording.

It was a conversation from a few days ago.

"Honey, the company's IPO celebration is next week. Which dress should I wear?"

"Why would you go? That scene isn't for you. Just stay home."

"But..."

"Enough! You are just an old ball and chain. Do you want to embarrass me? Stay put at home!"

The recording ended. Silence filled the room.

Nikolas's face blanched, then became a furious crimson.

"You... you recorded me!"

I turned off my phone. "I've already sent it to my lawyer. Nikolas, with your infidelity and malicious asset transfer, it's more than enough to make sure you walk away with nothing."

"How dare you!"

He lunged at me, trying to grab my phone.

I saw it coming and sidestepped.

He missed, slamming into the wall.

"Willow!"

He roared, cornered.

I pulled the door open. The guests outside hadn't fully dispersed. Seeing us, they strained their necks for a better look.

Ignoring their stares, I walked straight through the crowd and left.

I went back to the house I shared with Nikolas.

It was a big villa where we'd lived for five years.

The fingerprint lock prompted me that verification failed.

I was locked out.

My phone buzzed. It was a message from Nikolas.

"Want to get in? You can, if you get on your knees and beg me."

Attached was a picture.

In it, Lydia was wearing my pajamas, lying on our bed, smiling, flashing a peace sign at me.

My stomach churned.

I pushed down the nausea and deleted the photo.

He thought this would make me cave?

How naïve.

I turned, hailed a cab, and went to a five-star hotel downtown.

I checked into the best suite using my own ID.

Soaking in the bathtub, the warm water enveloped my body, and I finally felt like I was alive again.

The next morning, I woke up.

My first move was to call Todd Larson, the veteran Head of Craftsmanship at Timeless Elegance.

"Todd, it's Willow."

"Ms. Cooper!"

The voice on the other end of the line sounded a little emotional.

"We heard about last night. Nikolas has no shame! How are you holding up?"

Todd was my father's old subordinate and had watched me grow up.

When I used my parents' inheritance to start Timeless Elegance, he was the first to bring his entire team to support me.

Without Todd and his crew, Timeless Elegance would have no soul.

"I'm fine, Todd."

I composed myself.

"I need to call an emergency shareholders' meeting and reorganize the board of directors. I need your support."

"Of course! Ms. Cooper, you just say the word. We old-timers have your back! But..."

Todd hesitated.

"Nikolas gathered some of the ops shareholders last night. Seems they're plotting to dilute your shares. He also froze the company accounts. Says he's investigating last night's technical error and has suspended all department work."

I gave a cold laugh.

He moved fast.

He was trying to gut the company and strip my power before I could react.

"In his dreams. Todd, I need you to do something for me."

I lowered my voice and gave him a few quick instructions over the phone.

Hanging up, I looked out at the bright morning sun, my eyes turning cold.

You thought you had won, Nikolas?

Let's see about that.

I met with a few of the old minority shareholders in the hotel's coffee shop.

These folks had originally invested out of respect for my dad, not because they had any real ties to Nikolas.

I laid bare Nikolas's marital infidelity and his plan to drain the company and dilute our shares.

After hearing me out, the old-timers were slamming their hands on the table, furious.

"That ungrateful snake!"

"Don't you worry, Willow. We're with you! We can't let a man like that destroy the company!"

With their support, I felt a solid foundation form.

If we united, our combined shares would be over sixty percent-enough to vote Nikolas out of every position he held at the shareholders' meeting.

We were hashing out the finer points of our strategy when the coffee shop door suddenly burst open.

Nikolas strode in, his face a thundercloud, flanked by a couple of security guards.

Lydia trailed behind him, sniffling dramatically.

"Willow, you've got some nerve." Nikolas said, his eyes sweeping over the shareholders before landing on me. "Sneaking around behind my back."

One of the shareholders stood up. "Nikolas, you've got some nerve showing your face! You think we don't know about the disgusting things you've done?"

"Disgusting things?" Nikolas scoffed. "Mr. Winston, need I remind you? I'm running the company now. Stick with her, and see where it gets you."

He walked right up to me, looking down his nose. "I'm giving you one more chance. Sign the share transfer agreement. For old times' sake, I'll give you enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life. If you choose to reject my generosity..."

His eyes turned threatening. "Then you won't get a single dime!"

Lydia chimed in, playing her part. "Willow, Nikolas is just trying to look out for you. It's so much work for a woman to run a big company. Wouldn't it be better to just hand it over to Nikolas and live the easy life as a wealthy lady?"

I watched their little performance, finding it utterly ridiculous. "Why should I give you what's mine? Nikolas, did you forget who it was that got down on his knees and begged me for a chance?"

His face darkened.

This was the past he hated most.

He came from nothing, full of ambition but hitting wall after wall.

It was me who gave him the seed money, the platform, the connections.

I was the one who pulled him out of the mud.

And now he wanted to kick me to the curb.

"Guess you're determined to do this the hard way." Nikolas lost his patience. He gave a slight nod to the security guards behind him. "Escort her back to the office. She needs some time to cool off."

The guards moved in and surrounded me.

The shareholders were civilized men. They weren't used to this kind of rough stuff and were momentarily stunned.

Two guards grabbed me by the arms, pinning me in place.

"Nikolas, this is illegal confinement!"

"Once we're at the office, you can sue me all you want." He sneered, leaning close to my ear. "But until then, you'd better behave. Otherwise, I can't be responsible for what my men might do."

His eyes dropped to my slender wrists.

I understood his warning.

These hands were the foundation of Timeless Elegance.

Every core design sketch came from them.

If something happened to my hands, the company would be half-ruined.

When he got ruthless, he could destroy everything.

I was forcibly taken back to the company.

Not to my office, but to the records room in the building's basement.

It was dark, damp, and reeked of stale air.

My phone was confiscated, and the door was locked from the outside.

I was shoved in, stumbling a few steps before hitting a cold filing cabinet.

"Willow, I'm giving you one day to think it over." Nikolas's voice came through the door, cold and flat. "Knock when you've made up your mind. Otherwise, you'll stay in there until you do."

His footsteps faded away.

The world fell silent.

I leaned against the filing cabinet and slowly slid down to the floor.

There were no windows, only a dim motion-activated light.

After I sat down, the last bit of light went out.

Darkness and silence swallowed me whole.

I hugged my knees, a chill spreading from my feet through my entire body.

I didn't know what Nikolas was planning.

But I knew he'd lost his mind.

To protect what he had, he would do anything.

Time ticked by.

I had no idea how much time had passed. It could have been hours, or it could have been a whole day.

My stomach started growling. My throat was parched.

Worse, I was starting to have trouble breathing.

I have mild asthma, and the stale, unventilated air was triggering it.

I started pounding on the door. "Open up! Nikolas! Open the door!"

No one answered.

I started yelling for help. "Someone! Help me!"

My voice echoed weakly in the empty basement.

The feeling of suffocation got stronger.

My lungs felt tight, each breath a struggle.

My vision started to blur, a ringing started in my ears.

Curled up on the floor, I felt my consciousness slipping away.

Right before everything went black, I thought I saw Nikolas's face.

He was crouched in front of me, his eyes filled with grim satisfaction and cruelty.

"Willow, you brought this on yourself."