The Secret in My Husband’s Glove Compartment Destroyed Our Two Years Chapter 05
In the morning, his call came through.
“Camilla. Why haven’t you made breakfast?”
I looked out the window and said nothing.
He asked again: “Where are you now?”
“I’ve already filed a lost document report. The ID
you took has been registered as missing.”
I turned off my phone.
He sent a few more texts.
[I can explain the ID thing.]
[I’ll take care of the auto loan too.]
[Just come home. We’ll talk in person.]
I didn’t reply.
The short–term rental in the neighboring city had
only a bed and a table. After I set my things down,,
the closet was still mostly empty.
Turns out two years of marriage didn’t leave me
with much that was really mine.
I called the bank to cancel my old cards. Then my
best friend Sloane called me.
“William just came to see me.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked where you’re staying. Told me to talk
you out of doing something rash.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I asked him why he never told Leona to stay away
from a married man.”
“Was he mad?”
“No.”
Sloane paused.
“It was like he suddenly forgot how to talk.”
That afternoon, Leona sent me a friend request on
¡Message.
The message read:
[Why have you left the account statements for
William? What do you mean?]
I didn’t accept.
She called from a different number.
“Camilla. Do you really have to dig into this
money?”
“The money came out of our joint account.”
“William agreed to give it to me. Take it up with
him.”
“Why did one of the transfers go to a real estate
agency’s escrow account?”
Leona’s breath caught.
“That was a security deposit.”
“Eighteen thousand for a deposit?”
“My place required a full year’s rent upfront.”
“Last month you posted a photo of new keys on
your Instagram. The caption said ‘finally have my
own home.”
“You’re monitoring me?”
“That post was public.”
She went quiet for a few seconds. When she
spoke again, her voice had softened.
“I just felt so insecure.”
“William wants to help me because I helped him.
when he was at his lowest.”
“So you took the money we had for our mortgage
and used it for your own down payment?”
“I’ll pay it back.”
“When?”
“When I’m able.”
“Leona. You were never out of options.”
“You have parents. You have a job. You have a
house you just put a down payment on.”
“The father is out of the picture, but you can still
take legal action to make him responsible.”
“You won’t take any of those paths. Because
reaching out to William is the easiest one.”
“But William’s all I have.”
She started crying.
“After you married him, everything he did was for you first. I just wanted him not to forget about
me.”
I listened to those words and felt nothing but.
absurdity.
If William really put me first, I wouldn’t be sitting here going over every single transfer.
That evening, my bank manager sent me confirmation of the eighteen–thousand–dollar
transfer.
The recipient wasn’t a landlord. It was a real estate
agency’s escrow account. Leona’s name and unit
number were in the memo.
I forwarded the screenshot to William with one
line.
[This is what you called an emergency.]
Ten minutes later, he replied.
[I didn’t know she bought a house.]
[You transferred the money.]
[I knew her reports weren’t serious. But she said
she needed follow–ups and her landlady was
kicking her out.]
[I thought the eighteen was for rent. The other nine was for treatment and living expenses.]
[So you believed her.]
[Camilla. I’ll get to the bottom of this.]
[You don’t need to prove to me that she lied to you.]
[The person who needs to explain things has always been you.]
Much later, he sent one last message.
[The bank appointment is set for tomorrow
afternoon. I’ll apply to transfer the auto loan back to my name.]
[Can you come?]
I replied: [I only talk about money.]