[Eric, thanks a ton for the stunning dress!]
[Isn't it a bit too lavish?]
[Eric, you up? Tomorrow's my big day—you better show up!]
It had the address of that upscale joint where I moonlight.
A place where the bill runs into the thousands. I eyed Eric suspiciously—where was he getting this kind of dough?
It was the first time in three years I'd snooped through his phone.
I scrolled and finally found Mandy's contact in WhatsApp, but only a trivial message remained; he'd wiped the rest.
Then I stumbled upon a receipt in his texts. My hands shook as I counted the zeros—was I seeing this right?
A dress worth 1.2 million dollars? My breath caught in my throat.
There I was, next to the man I thought I knew, feeling a surge of panic.
Yet, my mind snapped to clarity, recalling my own birthday this year.
He had given me 130-dollar clearance sneakers and looked so guilty.
This towering man, with tears in his eyes, clung to me, swearing someday I wouldn't have to worry about a thing.
Just two days earlier, he had said his mom was under the weather and he couldn't make it because of work. I had wired him 10 thousand dollars.
As he held me close, he called me the best wife anyone could ask for.