Chapter 1 · I Paid For Their Love Nest, Then I Burned It Down

Chapter 1

Seven days before the wedding, I was helping Richard Smith organize his mortgage documents when I decided to check his credit report on a whim.

To my surprise, there was an extra property under his name. Two properties in total.

The first was our supposed wedding house. We'd put down a 100 thousand dollars down payment, 70 thousand from me, 30 thousand from him.

As for the second one, the name listed in the co-borrower column was Lucy Scott.

Lucy was my bridesmaid and best friend of twelve years.

I stared at the screen, my fingers turning ice-cold.

Then I took a screenshot of that page.

Richard was still working overtime. At least, that was what he said.

I sat in the study, the credit report printout spread out in front of me. Black and white, plain as day.

It showed the loan details for Richard's second property: 280 thousand dollars, co-borrower Lucy, originated March 17, 2024.

That was a year and a half ago, when Richard and I had just gotten engaged.

I took a deep breath and steadied my hands.

I would dig up every last detail.

I opened Richard's banking app. The password was his mom's birthday. He'd never changed it.

I scrolled through the transaction history, month by month, entry by entry.

Every 15th, like clockwork: 2,600 bucks to Lucy. No memo. No note.

Not once. Not twice. Eighteen months straight, from March 2024 to now. 48thousand dollars total.

I gripped my phone so hard that my nails dug into my palm.

I kept scrolling.

March 2, 2024. Richard had wired 70 thousand to Lucy. The memo line said: [Down payment.]

70 thousand.

I put down 70 thousand for the down payment on our wedding home.

And he sent 70 thousand to Lucy to buy her another home.

I stared at that number and laughed.

Not because it was funny, but because it was absurd.

I pulled out my phone and took screenshots of every single transaction, making sure I didn't miss a single one.

Then I logged out of the banking app and put Richard's phone back where I found it.

Back in the bedroom, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

At one in the morning, Richard came home.

He quietly opened the door, took a shower, and lay down next to me. "Honey, are you asleep?"

I kept my eyes closed and didn't say a word.

He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Seven days until our big day."

His voice was soft, just like it was two years ago when he was trying to win me over.

I opened my eyes in the dark.

Seven days. That was enough.

*****

The next day, Richard left for work. I took the day off.

I opened my laptop and logged into Richard's iCloud account.

The password was his mom's birthday, too.

This guy couldn't be bothered to change his passwords.

His iMessages were synced to iCloud.

I searched for "Lucy Scott." The message history took a whole thirty seconds to load up.

The very first message was from September 14, 2022. Richard texted: [Lucy, how about that bistro tonight? I snagged us a window seat.]

Richard and I didn't start dating until December, 2022.

So, he met Lucy before me.

No. He was chasing after Lucy first.

I kept scrolling.

From September to December 2022, message after message, all of it flirtation. Richard had texted Lucy: [Missing you. You looked so good in that dress today. I'll take you to Marisport next time.]

Then came December. On December 3, Lucy sent a message: [I don't think we're a good fit. You're way too nice to me. It's honestly a bit overwhelming.]

Richard replied: [Then I'll wait for you.]

Lucy didn't reply.

Then, on December 15, Richard met me at the company's annual party.

On December 20, he invited me to dinner and got us a table by the window.

I remember it vividly because it was my first time at a bistro. I posted about it online.

Lucy commented: [Wow, that's so romantic.]

Now it all made sense. That restaurant, that seat. Richard had taken Lucy Scott there before me. I was only the backup.

I kept scrolling.

In April 2023, Lucy texted: [Richard, I've made up my mind.

Richard replied: [Really?]

[Yeah. But don't you have a girlfriend now?]

[She's different. You're the one I really want.]

I couldn't take my eyes off those words for a full thirty seconds.

Then I captured every single message, from the very beginning to the end.

378 in total. I saved each one, no exceptions.

My hands held steady. My eyes stayed dry.

Two years. Everything felt as fragile as a sheet of paper.

One touch, and it all tore apart.

Chapter 1

Seven days before the wedding, I was helping Richard Smith organize his mortgage documents when I decided to check his credit report on a whim.

To my surprise, there was an extra property under his name. Two properties in total.

The first was our supposed wedding house. We'd put down a 100 thousand dollars down payment, 70 thousand from me, 30 thousand from him.

As for the second one, the name listed in the co-borrower column was Lucy Scott.

Lucy was my bridesmaid and best friend of twelve years.

I stared at the screen, my fingers turning ice-cold.

Then I took a screenshot of that page.

Richard was still working overtime. At least, that was what he said.

I sat in the study, the credit report printout spread out in front of me. Black and white, plain as day.

It showed the loan details for Richard's second property: 280 thousand dollars, co-borrower Lucy, originated March 17, 2024.

That was a year and a half ago, when Richard and I had just gotten engaged.

I took a deep breath and steadied my hands.

I would dig up every last detail.

I opened Richard's banking app. The password was his mom's birthday. He'd never changed it.

I scrolled through the transaction history, month by month, entry by entry.

Every 15th, like clockwork: 2,600 bucks to Lucy. No memo. No note.

Not once. Not twice. Eighteen months straight, from March 2024 to now. 48thousand dollars total.

I gripped my phone so hard that my nails dug into my palm.

I kept scrolling.

March 2, 2024. Richard had wired 70 thousand to Lucy. The memo line said: [Down payment.]

70 thousand.

I put down 70 thousand for the down payment on our wedding home.

And he sent 70 thousand to Lucy to buy her another home.

I stared at that number and laughed.

Not because it was funny, but because it was absurd.

I pulled out my phone and took screenshots of every single transaction, making sure I didn't miss a single one.

Then I logged out of the banking app and put Richard's phone back where I found it.

Back in the bedroom, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

At one in the morning, Richard came home.

He quietly opened the door, took a shower, and lay down next to me. "Honey, are you asleep?"

I kept my eyes closed and didn't say a word.

He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Seven days until our big day."

His voice was soft, just like it was two years ago when he was trying to win me over.

I opened my eyes in the dark.

Seven days. That was enough.

*****

The next day, Richard left for work. I took the day off.

I opened my laptop and logged into Richard's iCloud account.

The password was his mom's birthday, too.

This guy couldn't be bothered to change his passwords.

His iMessages were synced to iCloud.

I searched for "Lucy Scott." The message history took a whole thirty seconds to load up.

The very first message was from September 14, 2022. Richard texted: [Lucy, how about that bistro tonight? I snagged us a window seat.]

Richard and I didn't start dating until December, 2022.

So, he met Lucy before me.

No. He was chasing after Lucy first.

I kept scrolling.

From September to December 2022, message after message, all of it flirtation. Richard had texted Lucy: [Missing you. You looked so good in that dress today. I'll take you to Marisport next time.]

Then came December. On December 3, Lucy sent a message: [I don't think we're a good fit. You're way too nice to me. It's honestly a bit overwhelming.]

Richard replied: [Then I'll wait for you.]

Lucy didn't reply.

Then, on December 15, Richard met me at the company's annual party.

On December 20, he invited me to dinner and got us a table by the window.

I remember it vividly because it was my first time at a bistro. I posted about it online.

Lucy commented: [Wow, that's so romantic.]

Now it all made sense. That restaurant, that seat. Richard had taken Lucy Scott there before me. I was only the backup.

I kept scrolling.

In April 2023, Lucy texted: [Richard, I've made up my mind.

Richard replied: [Really?]

[Yeah. But don't you have a girlfriend now?]

[She's different. You're the one I really want.]

I couldn't take my eyes off those words for a full thirty seconds.

Then I captured every single message, from the very beginning to the end.

378 in total. I saved each one, no exceptions.

My hands held steady. My eyes stayed dry.

Two years. Everything felt as fragile as a sheet of paper.

One touch, and it all tore apart.