Chapter 5: The Announcement

The door swung open with a soft click, and Grace froze in the hallway. Her heart was still heavy from everything, She hadn't expected them—Andrew and Sarah—to be standing in the living room when she arrived back at their apartment.

Andrew looked at her with a tentative smile, but there was something in his eyes that told her he wasn't sure how she would react, or maybe he already knew. Sarah, standing just behind him, wore a tight smile, one that seemed as rehearsed as it was uncomfortable.

"Grace," Andrew said, his voice soft but firm. "I... I need to talk to you. About something important."

Grace's chest tightened. She didn't know what she had expected, but this wasn't it. She hadn't expected to walk in and find them here—together, standing as if this was somehow normal, as if she were the one who was out of place.

"Can we talk in private?" Andrew added, his eyes briefly flicking to Sarah, who stood silently by his side, her gaze avoiding Grace's.

But there was no escaping it now. This wasn't just a conversation. This wasn't just him apologizing, or trying to explain. This was something else entirely, something that made the air in the room feel thick and suffocating.

"No," Grace said, her voice sharper than she had intended. "If you're going to say whatever it is you've been planning, then say it now. Both of you."

Andrew's face faltered for a moment, as if he hadn't expected her to be so direct. But Sarah gave a small, tight smile and took a step forward, almost as if she had rehearsed this moment in her mind.

"We thought it was time you knew," Sarah said, her voice steady but without the warmth Grace had once thought she'd seen in it. "We've been... living in the shadows for so long. It's time to stop hiding."

Grace's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't say anything. She just stared at them, waiting, her thoughts racing with disbelief. She was having trouble processing the implications of what they were saying. Living in the shadows—had she been that oblivious? Had they been doing this for years without her ever realizing it?

Andrew stepped forward then, his gaze softening as he looked at Grace, but it was no longer the look of the man who had once promised her everything. It was the look of a man trying to make her understand, trying to justify his choices.

"Grace, I know this is hard, but I can't keep living this lie. I've tried to, but—" he stopped, and the words seemed to falter before he continued. "I love you. I always will. But I can't deny what I feel for Sarah. I need both of you. And I want you both in my life. I don't want to choose. I... I can't."

Grace's stomach turned. He wasn't asking for forgiveness. He wasn't even apologizing. He was laying it out in front of her, as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world.

"I want you both," he repeated, the finality of his words like a slap to the face.

Grace blinked, trying to process what he was saying. He wants both of us?

The anger flared up inside her, but it wasn't just anger. It was disbelief. It was hurt. It was the crushing weight of betrayal she had never imagined could come in such a form.

"You—" Grace began, her voice trembling with the rage and hurt she was trying to keep in check. "You want me to share you? You think I'm just going to accept this? Accept her?"

She gestured toward Sarah, whose expression remained neutral, almost like she was prepared for the confrontation, like she had been waiting for this moment too. There was no apology on her face, no regret. She was there, standing by Andrew's side, as if this arrangement was something Grace should just accept.

"Grace, please," Andrew said, his voice pleading now. "I never wanted to hurt you. But I'm being honest with you now. This is who I am. I can't go back to what we had. I can't keep pretending. I love you, but I need Sarah, too. I need both of you."

For a moment, Grace couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She was suffocating in the reality of his words. She had given him everything. Her trust, her love, her devotion. And now he was telling her that it wasn't enough. That he needed someone else. That she—they—weren't enough for him.

But as the anger surged within her, something else solidified. A sharp clarity pierced through the fog of hurt. This wasn't a marriage anymore. This wasn't a relationship built on trust, love, and respect. This was something else entirely. Something that had destroyed everything she had once believed in.

Grace swallowed hard, her fists clenched at her sides as she said " you want us both as how? You want to keep her still as your mistress! "

Andrew shook his head and said" I want to marry her as my second wife", you will still be my wife, First wife.

Grace felt like she fell from the sky. She couldn't believe what she just heard. "I want marry Sarah as a second wife and she the first wife... What ... That's numbering us. First wife... Second Wife... What century is this .

She took a deep breath and turned to face Andrew, her voice cold and steady now.

"No," she said, her words cutting through the air with the finality of a hammer striking stone. "I will not be part of this. I will not be numbered as one of your wives. You don't get to have both of us. You don't get to tear everything we built apart just because you can't make a choice."

Andrew's face faltered for a moment, as if he had been expecting a different reaction, but Grace didn't care. She wasn't here to make him feel better. She wasn't here to explain herself to him, or to try and piece together a life that no longer made sense.

"I am not going to shared my husband with anybody" , Grace said with tears because the shock was too much .

" You know Andrew I have thought about how to handle this situation about you welcoming a child outside our marriage, I was hoping to forgive you for your infidelity but if you are planning to take her in as a wife then just know that I will never be one of the wives.

She turned on her heel, and walked out.