“Did you know he spent eight thousand dollars on my birthday necklace?”

Yes.

I knew that.

Because I had seen the charge on our shared credit card account.

The same account that received its deposits from my supposedly meaningless job.

The Moment of Truth

Fifteen minutes later, Richard’s car pulled into the driveway with the abrupt urgency of someone who believed he was responding to a serious emergency.

The front door opened.

He stepped inside quickly, still speaking as he walked.

“What happened to the—”

Then he stopped.

His eyes landed on Alexis first.

The color drained from his face.

A second later he looked at me.

The silence that followed lasted only a few seconds, yet it felt strangely longer than the twelve years we had spent building a life together.

Alexis jumped up from the sofa with excitement.

“Surprise!” she said brightly.