The Wife Between Us Summary

I will give a detailed summary of the book The Wife Between Us. Please note that there are spoilers ahead.

The Beginning

They're in love with the same man, Richard.
Vanessa is his ex-wife, who can't seem to get over him. Nellie is his new, younger fiancé who's a lively preschool teacher. She has just moved to New York, living with another preschool teacher, her best friend Samantha. As the book progresses, we learn of the issues Vanessa and Richard faced. At first it seemed as though Vanessa began to drink heavily during the marriage, we soon find out why. Vanessa and Richard had tried and failed multiple times to get pregnant. Vanessa had a miscarriage in her early twenties. which she failed to inform Richard on until after they were married and trying for a baby. It isn't until after they go to a doctor that Richard finds out and is of course not pleased.

Richard and Nellie

We see how Richard and Nellie met; Richard had given up his first-class seat to a soldier. Nellie hates flying, but Richard was there to calm her down. Richard is always traveling for work. He actually noticed Nellie at the airport smiling at a small child. We find out that Richard was still married when he began to see Nellie. Vanessa found out and went to Nellie's home, but didn't knock.
Richard himself has only his sister for his family. Both of his parents passed away due to a car accident.

Vanessa and Nellie's Back Story

Vanessa now lives with her aunt, who is an artist. Vanessa's parents have already passed, so her aunt Charlotte is her only family. Vanessa's mother had a history of mental illness, that may be bipolar disorder.
Vanessa begins to follow Nellie around, and also calls her. She also calls Richard to talk to him, she wants him back.
Nellie tries to ask Richard about Vanessa, but he always brushes off her questions, she doesn't delve deeper because she has her own past that she wants to hide. She is from Florida, but she tried hard to escape her past. Her father died when she was a teenager from cancer. But she hints at something that happened to her during university. She is paranoid in her everyday life, that someone is following her.
Richard sends Vanessa a box full of old memorabilia. Their old wedding photos, some clothes Vanessa had left, and a necklace Richard had given her.

The Real Truth

Vanessa is heading to what we think is Nellie's place, but it's actually a woman named Emma. She is young with blonde hair; SHE is Richard's new fiancé. She was hired as Richard's secretary and they began their affair. So, who is Nellie?
Nellie IS Vanessa. Nellie was just a nickname that Richard gave to Vanessa stating that her name was too serious for her, and that Vanessa was a nervous Nellie. She never liked it. She was once young, blonde, and full of life... Until she married Richard and moved to the suburbs. She lost touch with her friends and family.

Vanessa's Past

Like I stated, her mother had a history of mental health issues, but they had gotten better by the time Vanessa married due to medication. Her mother and father were divorced, but her father died from cancer shortly after she graduated middle School.
She was in a sorority at University. During pledge week, she had a pledge, Maggie, who was shy, but she picked her due to her volunteer work at an animal shelter. Vanessa had a miscarriage during that time, right? Not exactly....
Vanessa had been dating a man that we assumed to be a student but was none other than a professor. Vanessa needed to talk to him to tell him she was pregnant, but he told her to wait and didn't answer her calls or texts.
She had decided to confront him head on.
The pledges were getting hazed so to speak. The had drank and were being led to the ocean. Vanessa couldn't wait, so she asked her friend to watch Maggie for her.
She went to confront the professor, only to find out that he is married with kids!
It is later revealed that Vanessa had an abortion, not a miscarriage.
She goes back to her sorority house where all the pledges are drying themselves off. They had some excitement because some fraternity boys took the girls clothes, spreading them all over the beach.
Vanessa looks for Maggie, but she's not there...

Maggie's Family

So, they go back to the beach to search for her. They see police... Maggie had drowned.
The sisters attend her funeral. The family of course is in mourning, but Maggie's brother grabs Vanessa's arm and confronts her later on. He asks why she hadn’t protected his sister. Where was she. He later breaks into the sorority house and writes "you killed her", "whores".
Vanessa is so scared of Maggie's brother; this is where her anxiety and paranoia begins. She gets a lock for her door; in case he returns. She sees his red hair on train while the doors are closing in New York. She gets blocked calls from someone after she got engaged, her mother put her engagement announcement in the Florida paper with all of Vanessa's new information. She fears it is Maggie's brother calling to get revenge.

Vanessa and Richard's Marriage

Vanessa felt that when she was married to Richard that she was going crazy. She thought she was starting to forget the things she said, and things she was told. She wondered how Richard knew her every move before she could even make it. She began to dissect her marriage by writing everything down. How she had forgotten he told her he would be out of town. How he told her that her food was delicious, but only ate half and had given her cooking lessons. How when she gained weight, he bought a big scale, and told her what to cook for dinner. There were other signs. She went to visit a counselor to talk about Richard, he said that a neighbor saw her, but no one was at the train station. They had a dog that Vanessa was in love with, but he disappeared mysteriously after six months. He was a well-trained dog and wouldn't have wondered off. She also received a call from Richard the day the dog disappeared. He asked if she'd remember to pick up his clothes at the dry cleaner. The dry cleaner said your husband is called to ask if you picked up his clothes.
The alarm blared one day when Vanessa was talking to Sam, Vanessa thought she saw Maggie's brother. She ran to hide and called Richard. Vanessa later recalls that she made a joke to Sam about bringing a man home, when the alarm went off.
Richard's co-worker, Paul, had offered Vanessa a job. But Richard had said Vanessa drank too much and told her they needed to go home. Telling Paul that she needed to go home because she was drink. But Vanessa didn't feel that she had drank so much. He painted a picture to his colleagues that Vanessa was an alcoholic.
At their last party, Richard told Vanessa to get a bottle of champagne…But she knew it wasn't there. It wasn't there because Richard had his assistant, Emma order it. But where was the bottle. Richard cancelled the order. Stating he told Vanessa to use their personal credit card instead of the business card.

The Abuse

After Vanessa denied going to see a counselor, insisting she only went to see her aunt, Richard became furious. He held onto her wrist tightly, causing a bruise, he slapped her, and pulled her hair.  Her mother died soon after.
She tried to be the perfect wife so he wouldn't become angry with her.
She had written everything down in a journal.
One night Richard confronted her about it. He read every word. Her suspicion on him and what he had been doing, that he had been punishing her for not being the perfect wife. He instructed her to rip up the notebook. He kicked her in her ribs two or three times, he then straddled her and strangled her. She blacks out. The next morning, she can barely eat. He buys her a gold wristlet. He told her he was ALWAYS with her. He TOLD her to answer the door, and that when he called that she had better answer. She decides if she wants to escape that it has to be Richard's idea.

The Escape Plan

Vanessa planned to get Emma and Richard together. She faked being sick so that he would take Emma to an event. She told Emma that Richard and she should stay
together out of town, and that Richard needed to rest. She pretended at the party to have that she told the caterers to come at 7, when she knew she told them to come at 8. She pretended to drink heavily and be ho-hum about the caterers not coming on time. She changed the music from classical to the beetles. She got angry with the caterers, all so she could seem ungrateful, entitled, and undeserving of Richard. Thereby pushing Emma and Richard into each other's arms.

Vanessa and Emma Meet

Vanessa tries to warn Emma about Richard she won't listen. But she manages to get her to meet. Richard is there, he threatens Vanessa. Emma sees this and sees how scared Vanessa is. They agree to meet again when Richard is in Chicago. She tells her how he knows when she is because of her phone. They make a plan. Emma goes through with it but doesn't stick to it.
Vanessa realizes it's up to her.

The Confrontation

She goes to confront Richard one last time, at Emma's apartment building. He attacks Vanessa, choking her... Almost killing her. She manages to hit Richard with something, and screams. Vanessa and Maureen come running. The police are called.

The Ending

Richard is sentenced to take classes at a facility.
We learn more about Richard there though Maureen. Richard's father was abusive towards their mother. The father caused the accident that killed them. Richard was in the car; he has a scar from it. He got a concussion. His sister seems to make excuses for her brother, but she knows that Richard shouldn't be married. She said that she will make sure he doesn't marry again.

In the end we see Vanessa happy, and meeting Sam who is married.