My Husband's Loyalty Agreement Came Due

Synopsis

On our wedding day, my husband, Thomas Bennett, signed a loyalty agreement in front of all the guests, stating that if he ever betrayed me, he'd walk away with nothing. My dying mother had warned me he would eventually leave me for his childhood sweetheart, Emily Lane. Thomas handed me the agreement, his voice certain: "If that day ever comes, everything I own is yours." For four years, he loved me and protected me. When Emily returned and asked for his help, he turned her down in public. He cut off their family's partnership and even changed the phone number he'd used for ten years to put my mind at ease. I finally believed my mother had been wrong about him. On our fifth anniversary, Thomas said he had a last-minute business trip, but he filled our home with roses. In the early hours, I received an anonymous email with an attachment showing a hotel receipt. Presidential suite, breakfast for two. Guests: Thomas Bennett and Emily Lane. There was also a note in the comments: [Mr. Bennett requested no flowers in the room. His wife is allergic.] But I was not allergic. Emily was. At the end of the email was a video. In it, he was fastening the anniversary necklace he was supposed to give me around her neck. I closed the video and pulled out the loyalty agreement that had sat untouched for five years.