Chapter 3
My schedule had been absolute hell lately, and I was barely keeping my head above water.
Three days after I submitted the blueprints for a luxury villa, the site manager blew up my phone in a panic.
"Hey, genius, your designs are trash," he rasped, his voice sounding like he had been screaming all morning. "The master bedroom dimensions are all wrong. The walls are crooked, and the client is threatening to sue us for every penny we have!"
I stormed into the study and found Lexi kicking back with her legs crossed, scrolling through videos.
She looked up with those wide, innocent doe eyes and chirped, "Audrey, what is wrong?"
"You begged me to let you handle the spreadsheets for that villa because you wanted those internship hours," I snapped, slamming the blueprints onto the desk. "You swore you checked the data. Why is the master bedroom width short by 8 inches?"
"That makes no sense," Lexi said, blinking at me. "I just typed in exactly what was in the files..."
Tyler, sitting next to her, shoved his laptop aside.
"Seriously, Audrey?" he scoffed. "It's no big deal. Why are you making such a scene? Just write a check and fix it.
"Stop grilling Lexi like she is some kind of criminal."
I let out a sharp, angry laugh. "The client is claiming 300,000 dollars. You call that 'no big deal'?"
Tyler shrugged. "So what? Just 300,000 dollars. It is not like we can't afford it."
He pulled Lexi behind him like he was shielding a victim. "Lexi already apologized. What more do you want from her?"
Lexi started sobbing immediately. "Tyler, don't be mad at Audrey. I will pay for it. I will give up my allowance. I will pay you back, okay?"
She made sure to tilt her phone screen right at me so I couldn't miss it.
It showed a transfer record. Just yesterday, Tyler had sent her 3,000 dollars. The memo read: [Snack money for Lexi.]
My hands curled into fists so tight my fingernails dug into my palms.
Memories hit me like a truck. I remembered the nights before we got married, back when Tyler's startup was failing.
He used to hold me in our cramped rental apartment and whisper, "Audrey, you are the only one who sticks by me when things get tough."
He had tears in his eyes back then. I felt so bad for him that I handed over the bank card with my entire life savings without blinking.
At our wedding, Tyler shouted into the microphone for the whole world to hear. "I am the luckiest man alive to have Audrey Bennett!"
His palms were sweaty as he gripped mine while the applause thundered below the stage. He was grinning like he had just won the lottery.
But that was then. Now, barely three years later, he was standing there defending someone else against me.
"Lexi," I said, keeping my voice steady. "Last week you asked me, 'Do these numbers really matter?' and I told you, 'If it is off by an inch, the whole thing is ruined.' I have the WhatsApp receipts right here."
I pulled up the security footage from the study on my phone.
Lexi's voice was crystal clear on the recording. "She thinks she's so smart? I am going to ruin this whole project for her."
Tyler glanced at the screen, but instead of getting mad at Lexi, he turned on me.
"Audrey, seriously? You set up cameras in our house? Who are you spying on?" he snapped.
Lexi instantly went into full drama queen mode. She collapsed onto the floor, burying her face in her hands.
"Audrey, how could you be so cruel? I stayed up late every night helping you with those files, and you actually treat me like this..." she sobbed.
Tyler snapped. He snatched my phone out of my hand. "Delete that footage right now. Lexi's barely twenty-one. You're a grown woman, Audrey. Stop picking on a kid."
I clenched my jaw and decided to give him one last way out.
"I will pay the 300,000 dollars. But she has to move out. Today," I said, not backing down.
Lexi suddenly started screaming like I was murdering her. "Tyler, I won't go! You are all I have here. I can't leave you..."
Tyler shouted over her screams, "Audrey, stop it! She is studying for the bar exam. Where is she supposed to go? Are you completely heartless?"
I scoffed, "Me? Heartless? If I were heartless, she would be on the street already."
*****
I had been feeling completely wiped out for days, and waves of nausea were hitting me out of nowhere. I couldn't tell if it was the stress from dealing with Lexi or if my body was just shutting down from lack of sleep.
The room started spinning while I was at work that afternoon. I couldn't push through it anymore, so I drove myself to the ER.
The doctor dropped the news: I was four weeks pregnant. It was this terrifying, happy, confusing mess of emotions all at once.
I carefully folded the ultrasound printout. It was just a flimsy slip of thermal paper, but it felt like it weighed a ton in my hands.
All the way home, I daydreamed about how Tyler's face would light up when I told him.
But the second I walked through the door and checked Instagram, Lexi popped my bubble. Her latest post was a close-up of a sparkling diamond ring.
The caption read: [My very first diamond. Thank you, my love.]
She had tagged the location of the most expensive jewelry store in town.
I had walked past that store window a thousand times, but I never let myself step inside. I couldn't justify spending that kind of money on myself.
My hand drifted instinctively to my flat stomach.
I had to force myself to take a breath.
The key turned in the lock, and I heard the door open.
I shoved my feelings into a box and locked it. By the time he walked in, I was sitting on the couch, stone cold.
"You still up?" Tyler mumbled, barely glancing my way as he loosened his tie.
"So," I said, keeping my voice flat. "You bought Lexi a diamond ring?"
He paused for a second, then put on his poker face.
"Her birthday's coming up. It's just a little trinket. Nothing fancy," he said, sounding offhand.
He noticed the phone in my hand and shrugged. "Oh, Lexi posted it? Whatever, she's a kid. You know how girls like to show off."
He was totally blind to how pale I was. He didn't even see my knuckles turning white from clenching my fists.
"Is that right?" I asked, keeping my voice flat. "Well, next time, try not to use the credit card linked to my bank account. It costs enough to support you. I can't afford to support her, too."
Tyler froze for a second.
"God, Audrey, are we doing this again?" he snapped. "I told you I'd pay you back once the company has cash flow.
"You always make everything about money. It is so petty. Do you ever get tired of counting pennies?"
I just stared at him. I had killed my own chances at a promotion to support his dream.
I busted my ass taking on extra projects just to bring in more cash for us.
Every cent of my savings went into plugging the leaks in his failing business, while I handled every piece of grunt work so he could play CEO without stress.
And this was the thanks I got. To him, I was just a nagging wife who cared too much about money.
When I didn't respond, he just waved his hand dismissively.
"Whatever. I'm beat," he muttered. "I'm going to shower.
"Go to sleep, Audrey. Stop making up problems in your head."
He turned his back on me and walked into the bathroom without another word.
I sat there in the silence. I wondered what he would do if I told him I was pregnant right now.