LETCH

SAGE

"Do you- Thane Thompson, take Sage to be your legally wedding wife?"

He stared at me, smiling. And the moment he opened his mouth, his phone began to ring. My fears.

He took out his phone from his pocket, and I caught a glimpse of the name. C. Wong.

"Hello? Oh my god, I'm on my way!" He exclaimed. I had no family to witness the embarrassment, but his brothers sneered at me as he ran out of the cathedral.

"I'll be back!" He yelled out and disappeared.

Can the ground just open and swallow me? The embarrassment was too much, especially since I could hear the not so secret talks coming from the guests.

"I'm sure she's one of those poor wretches, trying to climb into his family wealth," a woman murmured. "I would expect my son to behave the same way too."

"Oh dear, what a shame she must be," another woman said.

Some of the young girls laughed at me. The priest held a straight face, and all I could do was keep my gaze low. Thane had abandoned me on our wedding day, and went to attend to something he feels is more important.

One after the other, guests started to leave.

"She has no family or friend, I'm sure he used this means to escape marrying a shameful woman," someone murmured as they all left.

I remained in the same position until everyone else left. I was exhausted, but I was more hurt. I felt an arm drape over my shoulder and I jerked slightly.

"My dear, a man who leaves you at the altar doesn't love you. You should consider not marrying him," the priest said. "I'm afraid I have missed two other engagements I had for today because I thought to wait for Thane. Obviously, he isn't returning. I suggest you go home."

I nodded gratefully at him without saying a word in response. Well, I couldn't say anything. For I was afraid that the moment I opened my mouth, I would burst into tears.

I had fallen asleep on the chair, and I woke up when my phone rang. It was past eight pm, and Thane still didn't show up. It was my father calling, and I answered it after a few minutes.

"Sage, what's this I'm hearing?" He demanded. "Were you stood up by a man??"

I didn't respond to him. My father was overprotective of me, and I wondered who must have told him about my latest failure.

"Why are you keeping tabs on me?" I responded coldly. "Thane loves me, and I don't care if he was too shy to attest to it before a crowd. Thane and I are legally married whether we have a chapel wedding or not. Don't call me again."

"I'm your father-"

I ended the call abruptly, sighing angrily. If only he wasn't so up-tight about my life, Thane wouldn't have found it hard to accept me. It was his fault that I ended up the way I am.

I picked up my shoes and everything I owned, and I walked out of the chapel. I could see the surprising looks from the passers-by as I scurried along the street with my flowing wedding dress.

I ignored them, masking my shame as I struggled until I found a cab. I gave the driver my address and returned home. Thane wasn't home yet, and I suddenly got worried.

It wasn't until past midnight that I heard the front door open and shut. I sprang up from the couch where I had fallen asleep while waiting for him.

"Thane..." I whispered, ignoring my dizziness. "Oh my gosh, where have you been? I've been so worried about you. What happened?"

"Sage, I am so sorry," he gasped. "I didn't mean to run off just like that. I had an emergency and had to attend to it. I didn't know it would take so much time. You aren't mad at me, are you?"

"No..." I lied.

"It's just a ceremony, after all, we are already married and have been for the past one year," he said. As he spoke, he strolled further into the house, ignoring me.

"Of course," I murmured casually, offering him a sweet smile. It didn't matter if he was too shy to wed me in a chapel or hold a proper wedding ceremony for me, it didn't invalidate our legal wedding.

I went in after him, only to find the room locked. Sighing to myself, I went to the guest bedroom to sleep.

The next couple of days went by as if nothing had happened. Thane resumed being his usual self. He would leave very early for work without talking to me unless he needed something for work.

He would send all the calculations to me to perform the accounts, everything about his father's company was entrusted to me because I was that smart.

I did everything and made sure I was quick about it. I would even go ahead to explain it in terms he would understand so that he could defend projects he knew nothing about.

All the while, nobody knew that I was the one behind it, they all saw him as a smarty pants, and he happily took all the credits. Occasionally, he would give me some money to go shopping or treat myself.

It was his way of appreciating me, and I valued it so much. I knew that Thane loved me and only needed more patience. I also knew that he spent every Friday night in another woman's bed.

But it wasn't a bad thing, was it? Didn't they say that all men cheated? At least he never rubbed it in my face and he always respected me as his wife. That was more than I could ask for. I mean, I did secretly wish that his heart would belong to me alone. But what did it matter? As long as I could have even a little, I was content.

---

It's been three years of being married to Thane, and life never got better. Instead, he got worse. I was frustrated by everything, especially because I heard the side talks from his family members.

His siblings had celebrated different births, and every time I went, I heard his mother pass comments about how I was barren and unable to birth children.

Thane never defended me, instead, he stopped going out with me. I assumed he was going alone until the confrontation.

I was getting dressed to go along with him to visit his younger sister who had just given birth. He stopped the moment he noticed I was dressing up.

"Sage, what are you doing?" He demanded angrily. "Haven't I told you to never follow me for any family function?"

"I know..." I was surprised by the anger and disdain in his voice. "It's just... Since it's your sister's function and not a full family thing, I thought it was okay."

He scoffed. "Get out of those dresses. Do you even see how you look? What do you do with all the money I give you? You can't even get nice dresses or get in shape. How can I go around with you looking like my grandma?"

I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. I wasn't looking like a grandma, yes I had put on some weight of late, but not enough to look older than my age.

"Thane..." I drawled. "How can you say such crap to me?"

He hissed and walked past me, bumping his shoulder into mine as he did. My eyes filled with tears, and I blinked them back. I decided that I would go out with my dress just to clear my head, so I ignored him and left the house.

I sat alone at a table, and ordered my food. Of course, people gave me strange glances, and I started to feel very terrible.

My father was the second richest man in San Francisco, yet here I was, slaving away at Thane's mansion. Thane couldn't even stand toe to toe with my brother, and I was suffering as his wife.

"But..." My inner mind spoke softly. "Marriage is till death do part."

I scoffed aloud, and I decided to visit the restroom to finish my thoughts. I expected to have a quiet thinking moment, but the second I stepped into the restroom, I was pulled roughly by a lady.

I recognized her, she was Clio Wong, my husband's supposed mistress. She glared at me wickedly.

"Sage Ingram, I wonder why you even bear such a prestigious name when you're such a shameful woman! Listen to me, Thane is mine, and I want you to understand that."

"I'm his wife," I argued, but she only laughed menacingly.

"Sage... oh Sage," she shook her head as she walked around me slowly. "I just want to inform you that Thane is planning to divorce you. I'm the one he loves, and you're just a fool that he's using to gain greater heights. All he wanted was your intelligence to go higher in the company, and now that his position is secure, he needs a better wife that he can proudly go out with."

My heart broke with every word she said to me, because deep down I knew they were true.

"I'm telling you because I want you to start packing your stuff, Thane doesn't need a wretch like you around him. Do yourself some good and walk out."

After her harsh words, she brushed past me, leaving me to handle my heartbreak. I was truly fed up. Thane was the worst person anyone could have as a husband. Was he bad or did he just not love me?

I was barely done with my lunch when I noticed people staring at me and laughing mockingly. What was going on? I checked my phone to see a dozen missed calls from Thane. I quickly called him back.

"Sage! You fool, what have you done?!" He yelled. "Where the fuck are you?"

"I... I went to a restaurant to clear my head," I whispered.

He hissed angrily. "Get your ass back home. How dare you offend someone as influential as Clio Wong? Now your reputation is in the mud, are you happy?!"

"In the mud?" I repeated. My eyes widened as I ended the call hurriedly and went to the internet. My pictures were trending. Pictures of me in my wedding dress, abandoned by Thane. The picture was captioned: THIS LOSER BRIDE THINKS SHE CAN STEAL SOMETHING OF MINE.

Clio's fan base was in an uproar as they all wanted to find me to destroy me. I couldn't take it, so I quickly covered my face and hurried home. Thane was enraged and he hurled all manner of insults at me.

"Fix this!" He screamed as he marched out. It was his birthday the following day, and of course he didn't want his wife to be involved in any scandals.

This was it.

I took my laptop which I had abandoned ever since I started living with Thane. I plugged it in and powered it. Staring at the familiar picture which I used as the wallpaper, I realized that I had lost so much of myself by forcing things with Thane.

"He doesn't deserve me," I whispered. "Till death do us part, right? Guess what? Sage Thompson is dead. Welcome Sage Ingram."

I smirked as my fingers flew across the keys at a rapid speed. In a few minutes, every post relating to Clio's scandal was taken down. Clio's account was temporarily restricted for sharing fake rumours, and I felt satisfied.

I had also taken down every information about me on the internet. Whether as Sage Ingram, or Sage Thompson. I wanted nothing to do with Thane anymore.

In fact, I know the perfect gift to present to him on his birthday. I got up from my bed, turned off my laptop, and changed my dress. I would go to the bureau of civil affairs, and I'll get divorce papers ready. Thane's signature was in my custody, so signing them won't be an issue.