Melvin didn't come home until late that night, reeking of liquor.
He spotted Beth sitting on the couch and rubbed the bridge of his nose, irritation bleeding through his voice. "You're still up? If you're looking for another fight, save it. I drank too much and I'm exhausted. I don't have the energy."
Beth held a document out to him. "Just sign this."
"What is it this time? Jewelry? A new car?"
His vision was swimming. He didn't so much as glance at the words DIVORCE AGREEMENT printed across the top before picking up a pen and scrawling his name.
In the past, whenever he came home late and drunk, Beth would get angry. She'd lecture him about what alcohol and sleep deprivation did to the body, talking nonstop while she wiped his face with a warm towel and set a pot of hangover soup on the stove.
He would just listen in silence, drifting off to the sound of her fussing.
The next day, to smooth things over, he'd buy her a piece of jewelry or some rare artwork.
But tonight, Beth said nothing more. There was no soup simmering on the stove. She simply gathered the document, gave him one last look, and turned to walk upstairs.
Melvin felt a flicker of surprise, but figured she was just expressing her displeasure in a new way. Fine by him. At least he wouldn't have to listen to her nagging in his ear all night.
Beth paused at the turn of the staircase. She could see Melvin sprawled across the couch below, no blanket, visibly uncomfortable.
She didn't hesitate. She went straight to the bedroom and closed the door.
Early the next morning, Beth took the signed divorce agreement to the courthouse. Once the thirty-day waiting period passed, her marriage to Melvin Henson would be officially over.
After leaving the courthouse, she went to the auction house.
A pair of ruby earrings was going up for bid today. They had been donated for charity by Beth's mother before she passed.
They were her mother's favorite pair. Beth remembered being small, perched on her mother's lap, watching her unclasp the earrings and place them in her tiny palm. The deep red had seemed to pulse against her skin, warm as a little flame.
Her mother had smiled and said, "When you grow up, sweetheart, these will be yours. On your wedding day, I'll put them on you myself."
Her eyes had been so bright when she said it, like they held every star in the sky.
Later, when the illness came, her mother lay in the hospital bed, wasted down to nothing but bone. She held Beth's hand and whispered, "Sweetheart, I donated those earrings. For a good cause. Please don't be upset with me."
Now her mother was gone, and those earrings were the only piece of her left. Beth was going to win them back no matter what.
The auction began. The auctioneer presented the ruby earrings and opened the bidding at five hundred thousand dollars.
After several rounds, Beth called out one million. The auctioneer's gavel was already rising when a familiar voice cut through from the entrance.
"One point two million!"
Beth turned. It was Melvin.
He wore a deep blue velvet suit, and beside him stood Jeanette Pruitt in a red dress. They strolled in together, every eye in the room following them.
Jeanette walked right up to Beth, contempt written across her face.
"Mrs. Henson, I'm so sorry. I'm accompanying Attorney Henson to a very important dinner tonight, one that could shape the next decade of his firm. These earrings happen to match my dress perfectly, so he's decided to bid on them for me. I'm sure you don't mind, do you?"
Beth stared at her, every muscle locked tight. "Those were my mother's. You don't deserve to touch them."
Jeanette covered her mouth and laughed. "Her belongings? How morbid! Attorney Henson, never mind then. They give me the creeps."
Melvin patted Jeanette's shoulder gently. "Don't worry. I'm here."
Then he turned to Beth, his tone breezy, almost bored.
"Beth, you're a jewelry designer, and your family has more money than God. You can have any piece you want. Jeanette happens to like these earrings. Just let her have them. It's such a small thing. Why make a scene?"
Something detonated inside Beth's chest. She clenched her jaw and raised her paddle. "Not a chance. One point five million."
Melvin looked at her. A flash of displeasure crossed his face. He raised his hand, and though his voice was quiet, it carried to every corner of the room. "I'm calling the sky on this lot. No ceiling."
The words hit Beth like a bolt of lightning. Her whole body trembled. She had never imagined Melvin would go this far for that woman.
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
"Who is she? Why is Attorney Henson bidding against his own wife over her?"
"Apparently she's his new flame. She's been on his arm at every event lately."
"Well, well. Even the Cox heiress gets her turn."
Jeanette drank in every word, the corner of her lips curling upward. She accepted the earrings from the auctioneer, held them up to the light, and said loudly enough for the whole room to hear, "They're gorgeous. Thank you, Attorney Henson."
Then she moved to fasten one to her ear.
Beth snapped. She lunged forward and seized Jeanette's wrist, her voice tearing out of her throat. "Don't you dare put my mother's earrings on. You are not worthy!"
Jeanette let out a sharp cry of pain, her eyes instantly welling with tears. Her fingers went slack, and the earrings slipped free, hitting the marble floor with a small, bright crack. They shattered into pieces.
