Chapter 3

Sylvia's face turned pale in an instant.

Henry immediately stepped in front of her and pointed at me. "Madeline, that's enough!"

I pulled out my phone, opened Sylvia's posts, and shoved it in his face.

"That's enough? I scrimped and saved every single day just to pay off your so-called debt. I stretched every cent like it was two. Yet the branded dress she's wearing in these photos is worth 23 thousand retail!" I screamed.

"The week before, you said you had a company outing. Turns out, you took her out for a full-course dinner. It costs you 300 dollars per person. Last week, you said you were meeting a client, when you actually took her to a concert. You spent eight thousand on two VIP tickets."

I held out my hands in front of him as my anger surged. "These hands have scrubbed over 30 thousand toilets and cleaned half a million square feet of glass just to earn that money, yet all of it went to this bitch!

"Henry, you can't even call yourself a human!" I spat.

Henry guiltily looked away. Sylvia, on the other hand, laughed.

"His spending your money just means that you're useful. What else are you good at besides earning money?" she began. "If he takes you out and people ask what you do, are you going to tell them that you clean toilets? Where does that leave him?"

The shame on Henry's face vanished. It was like he'd found his footing.

"Exactly! Sylvia's right! I'll be honest with you. I never had any debt. I've been pretending to be broke this whole time. So what?"

He stepped closer, eyeing me with contempt. "You clean toilets for a living. How do you even compare to Sylvia? She's young, beautiful, and she looks good in my arms. Yet you? What can you do besides kneel on the floor and scrub?

"I married you because you could make money. Why else would I ever pick someone like you?"

After eight years of marriage and paying off his debt, Henry was my reward.

I stared at him. He suddenly felt like a stranger.

For the first time, I saw the filth beneath his face.

"You really outdid yourself, Henry," I said, my voice echoing through the room. It was eerily calm.

"I made eight thousand a month. I spent eight years scrubbing toilets to fill your so-called million-dollar hole. And now you're calling it a test to see if I'm cheap, stupid, and easy enough to fool."

Henry lifted his chin. "Yeah, it was a test. It's over now. You passed. Now that you know the truth, there's no reason to continue our marriage. Let's get divorced."

He paused, then put on a fake, considerate expression.

"Besides, I have cancer. Late-stage liver cancer. I won't drag you down. You should go and find someone better. I won't blame you."

Sylvia immediately wrapped herself around his arm. "Henry, you're too kind to her! After everything she's done, you're still thinking about her."

She turned and glared at me.

"Did you hear that? He has cancer, yet he's still putting you first! He's already done more than enough for you these past eight years!"

By now, people had gathered outside the door. Hotel security tried to step in, but the front desk staff held them back.

Voices buzzed all around.

"Seriously, she looks so plain. Who knew she'd be this cold?"

"Her husband's terminally ill, and she still wants a divorce?"

"Didn't you hear him? He admitted that he had been lying to her for eight years, yet he still has the nerve to act righteous about it. That's something else."

I stood there, stunned. Just then, my phone buzzed.

It was a message from Dewey. "The evidence is solid. I've prepared to formally file fraud charges against Sylvia and Henry for financial deception during marriage. Don't worry, I'll get your money back."

I stared at the message. For the first time in eight years, the weight on my shoulders was lifted.