Chapter 4

The second I heard that, I knew Ron was up to no good.

I pretended to be absolutely thrilled and nodded eagerly. "Thank you, baby!"

The next morning, sure enough, Ron was waiting outside my door in a luxury car.

I climbed into the car in my heels. Ron drove me to the biggest luxury boutique in town.

"Babe, it's your birthday today. Pick whatever you want!"

I didn't hold back.

Once inside, I grabbed a limited-edition handbag worth fifteen thousand dollars.

A calculating gleam flashed through Ron's eyes, and then he looked at the bag in my hand with exaggerated disdain.

"Baby, don't worry about going easy on me. That's way too cheap. You can't carry something like this on your birthday!"

"Listen to me, pick something pricier. That's what you deserve!"

The saleswoman helping me looked positively envious.

"You and your husband are such a lovely couple!"

"Generous men like him are so rare these days! We're all jealous!"

My lips curved in a faint smile. I put on a bashful act, but inside I could practically taste the irony.

When I'd picked out enough, I excused myself to touch up my makeup in the restroom and quietly texted Mary that we were in position.

In less than two minutes, Mary walked through the door in a stunning evening dress.

She went straight for the high-end jewelry section with the ease of a regular, trying on the priciest pieces one after another.

Ron had been chatting with a staff member nearby, but the instant he caught sight of Mary out of the corner of his eye, his face went rigid and every trace of color drained from it.

What was Mary doing here!

Mary didn't care about the look on his face. She made a beeline straight for him.

"Honey! What are you doing here!"

Ron's expression went rigid and he scrambled for an excuse.

"Just showing a client around."

Mary pretended not to notice the staff's reaction and nodded.

"Oh, you work so hard, sweetie. Well, I'll head up to the second floor to check out the new couture collection."

The moment she turned away, Mary sent Jennifer a message.

Three minutes later, Jennifer strode in on her heels, commanding the room.

The instant Ron saw Jennifer, his knees went weak. He looked ready to piss himself.

He rushed over to her immediately.

"Hey, babe, what a coincidence! What are you doing here?"

Jennifer gave him a half-smile, her eyes cool.

"A friend told me they just got a shipment of exclusive pieces you can't find anywhere else. I came to take a look."

Ron swallowed hard and took Jennifer's hand, leading her toward the third floor.

"Oh, that collection, yeah, I know the one. It's up on the third floor."

"Let me take you. Browse around first, and once I'm done with work, I'll come pay for everything!"

After getting her situated, Ron took a deep breath, pulled himself together, and headed back down to the first floor.

The very next second, Jessica pushed through the door, bold and stunning.

Thick as Ron was, even he could tell something was off by now.

Jessica didn't give him a moment to think. She marched straight to the top-tier luxury section, picked up a bag worth a hundred and twenty thousand dollars, and walked right up to Ron.

"Honey, didn't you say you had a surprise for me?"

"This bag. I love it."

The moment was right. I walked out of the restroom, straight up to Ron, and stared him down.

"Sweetie, who is this woman!"

"What surprise! You told me today was supposed to be my birthday surprise!"

Right on cue, Mary came back from the jewelry counter and Jennifer from the fitting rooms, and all of them closed in.

Four girlfriends he'd been stringing along in different cities, standing right in front of him at the same time.

Each of us held armfuls of expensive luxury goods, lined up in a row.

Ron went white as a sheet. He couldn't get a single word out.

The entire store fell dead silent. Every employee and customer stood frozen, staring.

I let out a cold laugh, lunged forward, and grabbed the cameraman who'd been hiding in a corner filming the whole thing. Then I turned back to Ron.

"Sweetie, how do you like the surprise the four of us put together for you?"