I OVERHEARD MARK TALKING ON THE PATIO ABOUT THE MISSING MONEY
I stopped dead on the back porch when I heard Mark’s voice talking low outside. My bare feet were freezing on the rough concrete beneath me, sending shivers up my legs as I crept closer to the sliding glass door in the near dark. He was hunched by the railing, illuminated only by the weak glow from inside, his back completely to me.
I pressed my ear flat against the shockingly cold glass, trying desperately to make out his hushed words. He sounded completely panicked on the phone, almost breathless with urgency. “It has to be tomorrow,” he insisted, voice tight. “Before Sarah finds out where the money went, before she checks anything.”
He ran a trembling hand through his hair, knuckles white. The streetlight caught the glint of his wedding ring as his body twitched with tension. A faint, sweet, unfamiliar perfume clung strangely to the damp night air around him, a scent I’d never smelled here before.
Money? *Where* did he move money without telling me? This wasn’t pocket change; this was our down payment. The thought made my stomach drop hard, and my heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat loud in my ears. I stumbled back from the door, fumbling blindly for the handle, desperate to get inside before he turned around.
Then his car headlights swept across the living room wall and pulled into the driveway, but he wasn’t alone inside.
👇 *Full story continued in the comments…*…My fingers finally found the cool metal of the sliding door handle, and I yanked it open, stumbling inside. I feigned nonchalance, busying myself straightening the throw pillows on the sofa. “Hey, honey,” I said, trying for a casual tone that completely missed the mark, my voice coming out strained and high. “Working late?”
Mark entered, his face pale and drawn. He hesitated in the doorway, his eyes flickering nervously around the room, avoiding mine. “Yeah, a few things came up,” he mumbled, running a hand over his forehead.
Then, the passenger door of his car opened, and a woman emerged. Tall and sleek, with fiery red hair that cascaded down her back, she walked towards the house with an air of confidence that stung. And then there it was. That perfume. The same sweet, unfamiliar scent that lingered in the night air outside.
My carefully constructed facade crumbled. “Who is this, Mark?” I asked, my voice trembling now, the carefully planned words turning to ash in my mouth.
He opened his mouth to speak, but the woman cut him off. “I’m Amelia,” she said, extending a perfectly manicured hand towards me. “Mark’s coworker. I just needed a ride home. My car wouldn’t start.”
The explanation hung in the air, flimsy and unconvincing. I looked from Amelia’s composed face to Mark’s panicked one. “The money, Mark,” I said, my voice tight with forced control. “What were you talking about?”
He sighed, deflating before my eyes. “Sarah, let’s just talk about this inside,” he pleaded, gesturing towards the living room.
“No. We’ll talk about it now,” I insisted, planting my feet firmly on the floor.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, his gaze locking with mine. “The down payment… I invested it. I thought it was a sure thing, a quick way to double our money. I wanted to surprise you.”
“Invested it?” I repeated, the words tasting like poison on my tongue. “Without telling me? All of it?”
He nodded, shame etched on his face. “I was wrong. It was a bad investment. I’m trying to get it back, but it’s complicated.”
Amelia shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I should probably get going,” she said, backing towards the door. “Goodnight.”
I barely registered her leaving. My world had shrunk to the space between Mark and me, filled with betrayal and disbelief. The dream we’d been building together, the future we’d planned, seemed to dissolve before my eyes.
“I messed up, Sarah,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “I know I did. I’ll fix it. I promise.”
I stared at him, searching for a flicker of the man I thought I knew, the man I loved. But all I saw was a stranger, consumed by his own mistakes and desperation.
“I don’t know if I believe you, Mark,” I said, the words heavy with a sadness that settled deep in my bones. “And I don’t know if I can forgive you.” I turned and walked away, leaving him standing alone in the doorway, the weight of his choices heavy on his shoulders. The concrete still sent shivers up my spine, but now, it wasn’t just from the cold.