Chapter 2
The relatives gathered around, showering Susan with praise.
"David really treats you well. I heard he pretended to take medical leave for surgery, but it was just to be with you. He's such a stand-up guy!"
"He's always the sales champion, brings home the bacon, and gives you all his earnings. Even has to check with you before spending a dime."
"You have no idea how much we all envy you."
Susan's cheeks turned red, and she looked so happy she could burst.
"I've told him he doesn't have to be so hard on himself, because he has expenses out there.
"But he worries I'll feel insecure, so he wants me holding the money.
That was when it landed on me that the surgery and the unemployment were both lies.
"I heard David's about to get promoted to director, isn't he?" one of the relatives said.
"He's so capable. He'll definitely treat his wife even better in the future."
My heart skipped a beat again.
Director?
The whole thing was beyond ridiculous.
So David had a job all along, and I had never known, and he was pulling a serious salary while he spent every dollar I earned without a second thought.
He never brought home a single dollar.
Instead, he handed it all over to another woman, supporting a whole second family behind my back.
Susan's voice was soft as she went on.
"David is the best man I've ever known, and marrying him is the luckiest thing that ever happened to me.
"The minute he heard about my dad, he dropped everything and handled this whole funeral for us."
A few days ago, David was acting all nervous and told me he had to go on a business trip with a friend who just started a new job.
But in reality, he was just here to be Susan's rock.
And I had actually believed he was that decent a man, when the joke had been on me the whole time.
"That's not even the half of it! Everyone knows David was so worried you'd get worn out, he even hired a nanny for you," one of the relatives chimed in.
"Susan, just look at you. You take such good care of yourself. You look like you're barely in your twenties. No one would ever guess you have a kid that age."
I remembered glancing in the mirror before I left, seeing my own exhausted face staring back at me.
I was only thirty, and the overtime and the running of a household had put years on me.
But the woman in front of me had clear eyes and none of the weight of daily life on her.
All because she had a husband who treated her like she was his whole world.
And as for me? I never had that kind of love.
Susan's eyes had curved into a smile, and most of the grief from when we first met had gone out of her.
"What gets me most is how he treats my parents. He's better to them than I am, and I'm their daughter.
"He goes to see them every week, always bringing loads of vitamins and health stuff.
"And whenever there's a holiday, he sends them ten thousand dollars.
"Whenever something happens at home, he's always the first one to step up and handle everything."
Maybe it was talking about her father, because a couple more tears came down her face.
My own father had always been forceful, and he had been against David from the start.
I had been out of my mind about the man and nothing was going to stop me from marrying him.
And after the wedding I bent over backward to protect that fragile ego of his.
I moved out of the big house without a second thought and bought a small two bedroom so the two of us could play house.
We lived close to my father, and I was so buried in work that I hardly ever went back.
David only visited my dad on holidays, and he only showed up long enough to be seen.
It all felt cold, and I could never quite put my finger on anything to fault him for.
He spent almost four days a week visiting his sick mother.
In fact he was here, with Susan and her family.
He had even used my family's money to look after the parents on this side of his life, which made him quite the devoted husband.