The day I found out Jesse Gilbert had taken my father's life-saving medical fund and used it to buy an apartment for some college girl, I jumped off the balcony.
I survived. But Jesse lost his mind.
Every day after that, he handed me the dog chain himself, got down on his knees on the balcony in the freezing wind, and let me chain him there while he recited vows of devotion.
Jesse Gilbert, a man who had never bowed to anyone, knelt there day after day with bloodshot eyes, his voice shaking as he begged me not to make myself sick with anger, begged me to smile at him just once.
He swore he would never betray me again.
But today, three million dollars had been swiped from the account. The exact amount of my father's surgery scheduled for tomorrow.
When I saw the smear of lipstick on Jesse's collar, I yanked the chain around his neck so hard my knuckles went white.
"You want to fool around, fine. You want to sleep with other women, I don't care anymore. But why do you keep stealing my father's life-saving money to fund your mistress?"
He dropped to his knees and slapped himself across the face, over and over, more than a dozen times. I didn't flinch. I didn't look away.
He snapped. He tore the chain free and slammed me to the ground, pinning me beneath him.
"Are you done?! It was one time! One emotional slip!"
"You're a housewife who lives off me. What right do you have to question where my money goes?"
"You want to talk about earning your own keep? You, the girl who got expelled for screwing her professor? What could you possibly do besides sell yourself?"
The dog chain split the skin on my face. Droplets of blood fell onto the carpet.
I watched the last trace of love vanish from Jesse Gilbert's eyes, and for the first time in five years, I smiled.
"Alright. Then let me go."
——
The impatience in his eyes collapsed into raw panic.
He crawled to me, locked his arms around my legs, his voice breaking apart.
"I was wrong, Lucretia Chavez. I lost my head just now."
"Don't leave. Please don't leave."
I lay still on the cold floor, staring up at the crystal chandelier we had picked out together.
My silence only made him more frantic. Words tumbled out of him, disjointed, desperate.
"That three million, it really was a company emergency! A project went sideways and I needed to cover it!"
The excuse was so familiar it barely registered.
Five years ago, he had said the same thing.
Cash flow problems. The company needed funds.
I believed him. I voluntarily stopped my father's targeted therapy and handed over every cent of our savings.
Then I traced the bank withdrawal to an address, and the door I pushed open led to a luxury apartment.
The young college girl was wearing nothing but an apron hanging loosely off her shoulders.
She came out of the kitchen carrying a plate, picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, and fed it to Jesse with a smile.
In that moment, every light in my world went out.
When I still didn't respond, Jesse began slapping himself again, wild, frenzied, over and over.
The sharp cracks echoed through the empty living room.
"Lucretia, hit me. Scream at me. Do whatever you want. Just don't shut me out."
He cupped my face with trembling hands, took a cotton swab from the first-aid kit, and dabbed at the blood on my cheek, bit by bit.
His touch was feather-light, as though he were handling something irreplaceable.
But minutes ago, those same hands had pinned me to the floor.
He changed me into clean clothes, then hauled me to his office without asking.
The building blazed with light despite the late hour. Everyone inside moved with urgent purpose.
When Jesse walked in with me at his side, every head turned.
A senior executive hurried over. "Mr. Gilbert, you're back? I thought you said your wife wasn't feeling well and you were heading home to be with her."
Envious glances drifted our way.
"Seriously, Mrs. Gilbert, you're so lucky."
"We're in the most critical phase of the project, and Mr. Gilbert still leaves on time every single day just to go home to you."
I listened without expression as Jesse half-carried me into his office.
