"You're so good at playing the lapdog. Why don't you bark a few times first so I can learn from you?"
I'd grown up surrounded by the calligraphy and paintings of master artists. I'd recognized the handwriting on that slip of paper as Shirley's the moment I saw it.
Shirley's face flushed crimson, her voice dripping with wounded innocence. "Neil, how can she humiliate me like this..."
A glass of red wine came crashing down over my head.
Neil yanked Shirley into his arms, shielding her, and glared at me with open contempt.
"Kathryn, enough! You won't do this, you won't do that, all you're good for is bullying a young woman. There's a limit to how unreasonable you can be!"
"You're a part-time calligraphy instructor. With that pathetic salary of yours, I'd be embarrassed to let you pay for gas."
"You live the life you live because of me. Where do you get the nerve to stick your nose in my business?"
A sneer curled across his lips.
"Shirley actually helps me at the company. Forget just swapping her into a party game. If she wanted the moon out of the sky, I'd pluck it down for her."
"And what can you do for me? You wormed your way into a wedding ceremony without putting up a single cent of dowry. You're nothing but a gold digger trying to get something for nothing!"
"So, Kathryn, take the money and sit quietly. If it's not enough, I'll give you more. But if you cause one more scene, I won't sign the marriage certificate at all!"
My chest tightened until I could barely breathe.
So refusing to accept my husband kissing another woman was causing a scene.
And five years of devotion, of standing beside him while he built everything from nothing, amounted to getting something for nothing.
But Neil didn't know.
My dowry had been ready for months. The assets were so extensive that the paperwork had simply taken time to finalize. I'd planned to present it all the day we signed the certificate, as a surprise.
Now it was clear he didn't deserve it.
"Well, that works out perfectly. I was thinking the same thing."
I said it coldly, turned, grabbed my coat, and walked toward the door.
The moment I pulled open the front door of the villa, his voice came from behind me.
"Hold on!"
Neil descended the staircase, chin lifted, wearing a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Kathryn. That down jacket you're wearing. Canada Goose. A hundred thousand dollars. I paid for it."
"If you've got the guts to walk out, then don't take my things with you. Can't you afford your own clothes?"
"Oh, and don't forget to leave every card I ever gave you."
The villa doors gaped wide open. Wind laced with snow bit into the back of my neck.
It still wasn't as cold as what I felt inside.
Last winter, when the weather first turned, he'd complained that the down jackets I bought were cheap brands that didn't keep me warm. He'd thrown every single one of them out without asking. The next day, he'd given me the Canada Goose himself, telling me that things were better now, that he'd never let me freeze again.
Neil knew all of that perfectly well. He was doing this on purpose, just to humiliate me.
In that moment, all I felt was regret.
Regret that I'd been so blind about who he really was.
One of the guests thought things had gone too far and tried to intervene. "Come on, Neil. It's below zero out there. She's barely wearing anything underneath. Without that jacket, she'll freeze."
"It's supposed to be a happy occasion. Don't let it end like this. Just swallow your pride and make up with your wife. There's no shame in that."
Neil clearly didn't see it that way.
His lips twisted into a mocking smirk.
"We haven't even signed the certificate. What wife? I spoiled her too much before, that's all. Now she thinks she can throw around words like 'breaking up' whenever she pleases. She should be grateful I'm not making her walk out of here with nothing but the clothes on her back."
"Kathryn, don't say I didn't give you a chance. Apologize right now, promise to get along with Shirley from here on out, and I'll forgive you. We'll sign the certificate, and you'll still be Mrs. Sanchez, just like you wanted."
Shirley nestled against his side and settled in, beaming.
"She's right, you know. Sis, if you've already lowered yourself to being a gold digger, why get so worked up over a little thing like this? I'd quit while I was ahead if I were you."
