Tag, You're the Mistress

My boyfriend Adrian had a childhood friend named Chloe, and her favorite game was "catch the mistress." Every time I changed jobs, she'd show up with a group of people and cause a scene. The first time, I got fired because of her for "disrupting workplace order." I confronted her angrily, but Adrian immediately stepped in front of her and defended her. "Chloe's young. She likes to mess around. You're ruining the fun by taking it so seriously." The second time, I couldn't stand my coworkers' gossip anymore, so I quit. Adrian said I was being too sensitive. "You didn't do anything wrong. Why do you care what other people say?" Then I finally got an offer from my dream company. And Chloe showed up with her friends to pull the same stunt again. I'd already put up with it twice. There wouldn't be a third time. So this time, I called 911. Adrian arrived almost at the same time as the police. And once again, he blamed me for making a big deal out of nothing. "Chloe was just playing a joke on you. Did you really have to turn it into this whole scene?" "Besides, she wasn't wrong. You are the mistress." His voice was calm and certain. The people around us fell silent. My coworkers, who had been defending me only moments earlier, immediately looked at me differently. Their strange, judgmental stares made my skin crawl. "Adrian, what the hell are you talking about?" "I know you're trying to get Chloe out of trouble, but you don't have to lie about something like this." He ignored me and pulled out a marriage certificate, handing it to the officer. "This is Chloe's and my marriage certificate." "I'm sorry we wasted police resources over a family matter. It won't happen again." The words died in my throat. My mind went completely blank. Chloe smugly held up another copy and waved it in front of my face. "Adrian said if we were going to play 'catch the mistress,' we needed a convincing reason. So he took me to get married first." "Sorry, Elena. Looks like this time, you really are the mistress." The officer handed the certificate back to Adrian and even warned me before leaving. "Making a false police report is illegal. If this happens again, we won't let you off lightly." The HR manager who had personally come downstairs to welcome me earlier had completely lost her smile. Now she looked like she couldn't distance herself from me fast enough. "I'm sorry, Elena. We may need to reconsider your employment." "We'll suspend today's onboarding process. Please go home and wait for further notice." "We'll contact you as soon as we have a decision." She turned me down as politely as she could. But standing there, I felt as if someone had slapped me across the face in front of everyone. It hurt. And it was humiliating. Seeing this, Adrian reached out to pull me away. "Since you don't have to work today, I'll take you home. It's on my way." I jerked my arm free, my voice trembling. "When did this happen?" Adrian pressed his lips together and changed the subject. "We'll talk when we get home. There are so many people watching. Aren't you embarrassed?" "If you're already married to Chloe, why did you propose to me? Why did you promise we'd have our wedding at the end of the year?" Before Adrian could answer, Chloe suddenly burst out laughing. "You mean that bet we made?" A chill ran through me. My voice dropped. "Bet?" Chloe wrapped her arm around his. Adrian didn't pull away. "Everyone said you were desperate to marry Adrian, so I wanted to see if it was true." "But I never thought you'd be that easy. He got a plastic ring out of a gumball machine and proposed, and you actually said yes." "That's seriously pathetic." The color drained from my face. My hands clenched tightly at my sides. I had questioned Adrian's sincerity because of that plastic ring, too. But at the time, Adrian had told me, "The custom ring isn't ready yet, but I couldn't wait any longer to ask you to marry me." "Elena, you're not going to hold that against me, are you?" Seeing the guilt and sincerity on his face, I had accepted his proposal. But in the end, I never got the real ring he'd promised me. All I got was his marriage certificate with Chloe.

Chloe laughed even harder. Adrian took one look at my bloodless face and finally snapped at her in a low voice. "Enough." Chloe immediately shook off his hand, tears filling her eyes. "You yelled at me! You actually yelled at me because of Elena!" "My whole life, even my brother never had the heart to say anything harsh to me!" "Fine! Go be with Elena! I never want to talk to you again!" She ran outside crying. Adrian didn't even look at me before chasing after her. "Where are you going? There are cars everywhere. What if you get hit?" Chloe turned her head away from him sulkily. "Then let them hit me and kill me. My brother's already gone, and now you don't want me either." Adrian's voice softened as he pulled her into his arms. "I never said I didn't want you." "You'll always come first to me." Chloe shot me a triumphant glance. When she saw that I was expressionless, she pouted in disappointment. Adrian brought her back over to me. "Sorry. Chloe's been spoiled by all of us since she was little." "She doesn't know when she's gone too far, and she has a bad temper. Don't stoop to her level." I looked up at him. "So everything she just said was true?" Adrian stiffened for a moment. "The jeweler called me today. Your ring is ready. I'll propose to you again." "You're already married to her. What's the point of proposing to me again?" "Adrian, I don't want some other woman's leftovers. Especially not a married man." Adrian fell silent for a moment. For once, he actually bothered to explain. "Her brother died saving me. Chloe lost her only family." "I promised I'd give her another family member in his place." "That certificate was the only thing that could make her feel secure." "You'll be her family too someday. Just cut her some slack and stop making such a big deal out of this." That was exactly what Adrian had told me the first time Chloe came to my workplace and caused a scene. Chloe had no family. She was pitiful. So I needed to accommodate her. Chloe was only terrified of losing him. So I needed to understand her. I felt sorry for her. But who was supposed to feel sorry for me? "I promise this was the last time. I won't let her go to your workplace and cause trouble again." Chloe hugged his arm. "Fine, fine. I swear I'll never play 'catch the mistress' again. Happy now?" "When are we going to eat? I skipped breakfast, and I'm starving." Adrian immediately frowned. "Who told you to leave without breakfast? Did you already forget about passing out from low blood sugar last time?" He scolded her, but there was concern beneath his anger. Then he glanced at me as though none of this mattered. "Chloe already swore she wouldn't do it again. Stop dragging this out." "You go home. I'm taking her to get something to eat." I watched them walk away arm in arm. Then a notification appeared on my phone. My job offer had officially been rescinded. No amount of promises could give me back what I had already lost. I hesitated for a few seconds before contacting the company in London whose offer I had previously turned down. They replied almost immediately. "Elena, we've compared several candidates and were actually about to reach out to you again." "If you're still interested, report to the office at nine tomorrow morning." I booked a direct flight to London for that evening before replying with one word. "Yes." This time, I'd chosen a company far enough away. Even if Chloe wanted to play "catch the mistress" again, I wouldn't be around to play along.

I didn't go after them. I tried to get a ride home myself, but we were in such a remote area that even after twenty minutes, no driver accepted my request. The midday sun made me dizzy. Then Adrian's car pulled up in front of me. "Get in. It's hard to get a ride out here." I didn't move. "Come on. It's too hot outside. You'll get heatstroke." Adrian got out and opened the passenger door for me. He still remembered that I always sat in the front passenger seat. I looked up at the scorching sun and finally got in. The moment I reached over to turn up the temperature, Adrian changed it back while we were stopped at a light. "Chloe gets hot easily. If you turn it up too high, she'll sweat." He remembered that Chloe hated the heat. But he'd forgotten I was on my period. The cold air left my hands and feet freezing, and even the passenger seat was uncomfortable. I reached down to adjust it. Chloe immediately stopped me. "Don't." "I'm only letting you borrow my seat for now. If you move it, I'll have to adjust it all over again next time." I turned toward Adrian. "You're the one who told me to get in." Without looking at me, he said, "Chloe gets carsick and can't drive herself. She's also used to sitting in the front." "She's tired today, so she's lying down in the back. You're only sitting there this once. Just deal with it." I pressed my lips together and stopped touching the seat. My lower abdomen cramped, and eventually my hands and feet became so cold I could barely stand it. Adrian reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a blanket. "If you're cold, use this." For a moment, warmth stirred in my chest. I was just about to take it when Chloe suddenly spoke from the back. "Adrian, I'm cold too." Without hesitation, Adrian turned and handed the blanket to her. "I told you not to wear such a short dress. Now you're cold, aren't you?" Chloe stuck her tongue out at him. "But you're here. I knew you wouldn't let me get cold." "You've always got an excuse." He turned back and finally noticed my hand still hanging in midair. "Chloe bought that blanket and keeps it in the car. It belongs to her." "If you get cold, you can buy one yourself and leave it in here next time." I lowered my hand. "No need." I had only myself to blame for being stupid. I'd softened just because he'd remembered that I liked the passenger seat. That was my mistake. I could live with the consequences. By the end of the ninety-minute drive, my hands and feet were almost completely numb. When I got out, the heat that had felt unbearable earlier now felt warm and comforting. Adrian carefully opened the back door and held his hand above Chloe's head so she wouldn't hit it on the frame. Only then did I realize we were outside a restaurant. "I want to go home." Adrian turned toward me. "Stop making a fuss." "You rushed out this morning, so you must be starving." "Chloe said the buffet here was really good. She specifically asked me to make a detour to pick you up so you could come with us. Don't be ungrateful." My stomach was already aching with hunger, so I stopped arguing. Fine. I could sit separately from them. But Adrian shamelessly brought Chloe over and sat directly across from me. "We came together. There's no reason to take up two tables." Chloe raised an eyebrow at me. "What? Elena doesn't want to look at us?" Neither of them bothered lowering their voices. The diners around us immediately looked over. I didn't want to become the center of attention, so I stopped arguing. After a few bites of beef, my face started itching more and more. Then Chloe suddenly pointed at me and burst out laughing. "Look at her! Her face is all red and swollen. Doesn't she look like an ugly old frog?"