No money changed hands. Instead, he used a temp agency to set her up with a job handing out flyers that paid ten thousand dollars a day.
I studied the timeline carefully.
During that same period, Nathan had been "working overtime" constantly, ignoring my messages. The auspicious date I'd had a fortune teller pick for our marriage registration kept getting pushed back, again and again.
The moment I so much as mentioned getting married, Nathan would snap.
"Are you that desperate to tie the knot? You waited seven years. You can't wait five more months?"
So I swallowed my tears and had the designer alter my wedding dress measurements over and over.
By the time we finally registered our marriage, I never got to wear that dress. Because Nathan told me he'd gone bankrupt and couldn't afford a wedding.
Then the private investigator sent me a recording.
"To marry Bianca, I've got no choice but to get the marriage certificate with Tilda first."
"There's no other way. A woman like Tilda, if I don't keep her pacified, she'll use the pregnancy to force my hand. And Bianca has too strong a sense of justice. She'd cut me off completely."
"Get the certificate first. Forget about a wedding. When the time comes, I'll just tell Tilda I went bankrupt. That way I can move in next door to Bianca and take care of her."
"As for the kid in her belly, we'll deal with that later. If Bianca doesn't want it around, I'll just hire a few people to... If Tilda finds out, she finds out. Honestly, I'd love it if she filed for divorce herself."
By the time the recording ended, I was already standing outside Bianca's door.
Two voices laughed and flirted inside.
Ten minutes ago, Nathan had told me he'd picked up several designated-driver gigs and wouldn't be coming home tonight.
Lies like that rolled off his tongue without effort now.
I'd almost forgotten there was a time when he used to blush just asking, "Want to grab dinner together tonight?"
The sounds from the room grew louder.
I opened the camera on my phone, raised it, and pounded on the door.
The noise inside died instantly.
"Who is it?" Bianca called out.
I said nothing. I held the phone up with one hand and hammered on the door with the other.
The door swung open, revealing Bianca in a skimpy negligee from the waist up. Red marks trailed down her neck. One glance past her shoulder was all it took to spot the used condom wrappers scattered across the floor.
The second she saw the phone in my hand, her expression shifted.
"Tilda, what are you doing?"
I pushed my way in.
"I heard my husband's voice, so I came to check."
Bianca tried to shove me back. The persona she wore in public was always the same: blunt, outspoken, the kind of girl who'd rather break than bend.
"Your husband isn't here! Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean the whole world has to tiptoe around you!"
My loud knocking had already drawn a few neighbors to their doorways. The moment they heard that, their eyes lit up.
I looked at Bianca and pointed at the used condoms on the floor.
"Whether my husband's here or not, I'll know once I step inside. What's the matter? Were you blowing those up like balloons by yourself?"
Bianca's face turned crimson. Several neighbors covered their mouths, stifling laughter.
"Come on, just let her look," they chimed in. "She's pregnant. Don't pick a fight with a pregnant woman."
"If you ask me, you brought this on yourself. Always hanging around someone else's husband. We neighbors have seen it more than a few times."
"Stop making things up!" Bianca bit her lip, eyes glistening with tears on cue.
I shoved her aside.
"Move!"
Caught off guard, Bianca stumbled backward and fell right into Nathan's arms.
He was already dressed, though his collar was a disheveled mess and his face was dark as thunder.
"Bianca's pipes burst. I was just helping her fix them. What the hell is wrong with you?"
A knot of fury lodged in my chest.
"Fixing her pipes with a condom? Nathan, do you think I'm stupid?"
"You—!"
Nathan raised his hand at me. It froze in midair.
