[Name] was a name many were familiar with, of course, they would be she was the wife of Viktor Tchaikovsky after all, a rich and successful man, the subject of envy for many.
But no one knew [Name] [Lastname], they only knew the wife of a rich businessman, not [Name] and this was beginning to be a problem.
She had tried everything, charities, social events, public appearances... Yet at the end of the day, it was still 'The wife of ...'
Wife
She was growing to hate that word more and more as time went by. She felt overshadowed by Viktor.
So, as a last resort, after spending hours mulling over, she decided she would tell her husband.
It was quite late at night when he returned, throwing his coat off, almost ripping his shirt up as he grabbed a more comfortable pair of clothes and joined her.
"I want to start a company."
He almost scoffed at her statement.
"What?"
"Viktor, I want to start my own company."
"Why's that, love?" She had always been active in the social circle, and he had allowed that, after all, what was the harm in a few charity events and gatherings? But this?
"Why would my wife need to work?"
There was that word again, wife.
[Name]'s grip on her blanket tightened as she exhaled.
"I don't really do much all day and everyone is up to something these days so I thought it would be good to keep myself busy." She said as she turned around and placed a kiss on the corner of his lip.
"Hmmm, CEO [Name] does have a nice ring to it...
You know, why not? I'll be your biggest investor, what will you be—"
"No."
Viktor paused for a moment, almost surprised.
"No?"
"I..." she paused.
"I want to do this on my own, everything from gathering funds to attracting investors into my business, I don't want people to think I was only able to do it because of you."
There was a moment of silence among them, [Name] chewing her lower lip, wondering what his response would be to this.
"Of course." He kissed her cheek, tightening his grip on her frame as he buried his head in the crook of her neck, hiding his very much displeased look.
...
After that night everything else went smoothly, [Name] was able to attract a lot of potential investors and everything seemed to be going just as she planned, there wasn't a single flaw in the plan it seemed.
"You seem much happier lately." Commented Viktor as he sliced the perfectly cooked steak laid in front of him.
"Of course I am, we'll be announcing the release of our first few products! It will also be my first time at a public event as the CEO!" She explained, her eyes lighting up whenever she talked about it.
But Viktor just sat there, as if everything had frozen, his expressionless face and intense gaze set on her.
"Are you not happy, Viktor?"
He suddenly jolted, but composed himself immediately after as he once more set his eyes on her, this time with a large smile.
"Of course I am! You're doing amazing, I was just worried, this line of work isn't as easy as it seems, you should be careful, [Name]."
[Name] did get a strange feeling after that but brushed it off, everything was going perfectly, she would soon be officially releasing her first line of products and intended to soon catch up to Viktor. But most importantly, she would just be his wife anymore, she would be [Name] [Last Name], not just someone's wife. It was all she could wish for.
...
Then came the time for her inauguration, that's when everything started going down hill. First it was the reporters who seemed more interested in her husband's recent project than on her.
'Is it true Mr Chernov will be collaborating with Future Tech?'
'Is what the leaks claim true?'
Viktor this, Viktor that, today was supposed to be about the company she built from the ground without Viktor yet his name was still the only work coming out of people's mouths.
The articles after that didn't help either.
'The wife of current CEO of International Company Chernov Holdings starting her own company.'
And the like, all the articles she could find, it was always the same,
wife,
his wife.
That's all she was to these people. Would they have still cared so much if she was someone else? Was being Viktor's wife the only value she had?
She felt suffocated, trapped, she wanted out,
she wanted to leave.
But then that happened.
Everything went to hell when her newest product's information was secretly leaked to a competitor. Allowing them to release the product before [Name]'s company, leaving them labeled as 'frauds' and 'thieves', it didn't help that both shareholders and employees dropped like flies soon after.
"What a mess." Said the male as he looked at her sleeping on her desk.
"Vik...tor?" She said, slowly looking up, revealing her swollen red eyes and fatigued face, still half asleep.
"Shhh." He hushed her and picked her up, allowing her to rest her head against his chest.
He took [Name] back to their home, softly resting her in bed before heading back out. His lovely wife had made a mess and it was only natural he help her clean up.
...
By the time she was awake and conscious enough, everything had already been dealt with, any necessary public statements already made and lawsuits already sent.
And it was all done by none other than Viktor, her husband.
At that moment...
She should've felt grateful, indebted to her loving husband.
Yet she felt nothing of that sort, instead, rage overcoming her, she started this, she was the one who insisted on doing this on her own! She had made it very clear that she would go forward with this and handle it herself no matter how hard it became, so why did Viktor intervene? She told him not to. Why?
"Viktor!" y/n didn't usually raise her voice so her husband was caught off guard, surprised by the sudden change in her attitude.
"Whats's wrong, love?"
"Why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Why did you intervene when I specifically told you I would handle it?"
The mood in the room suddenly changed as an overbearing silence over took them.
"Haaaa."
Why was he acting like this, the Viktor she knew wasn't like this.
"Do you really not know why i acted like this, [name]?" A visible frown on his features.
Sigh
"[name], dear, do you really think you could do all of this on your own? Look at what happened, if I let this get any further out of hand it would've spiraled out of control! And you would've been the first to be affected by it."
"I said I wanted to do this on my own— I could've done it on my own! I would've asked you if it became too much for me!"
This remark irked her husband, he had tried so hard for her and this is what he got in return?
"That's the problem! You would've kept it to yourself until I was the only option, I was the last option! For the love of god [name], we're a married couple! You're my wife, stop acting like we're strangers, do you really think I don't notice how you flinch when you're with me or how you always try to keep your distance from me!" At this point Viktor was shaking and his breath ragged.
"Why can't you love me?"
[name] just stood there dumbfounded. How was she supposed to reply to this? She wasn't used to this, normally he would've just brushed her off. The female clenched her fists.
"Love? Did you think I would be able to love you after what you did? Do you really think that, you bastard?!
You took away my future from me, I had everything set and you just came in and ruined everything!