PART 4: The Money He Stole
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
I simply stared at the bank statements spread across my dining table.
Line after line.
Date after date.
Luxury hotel suites.
Designer handbags.
Weekend flights.
Spa resorts.
Expensive restaurants.
Jewelry stores.
Each transaction carried the same account number.
Our account.
The account Garrett and I had opened the week after we got engaged.
The account where every overtime paycheck I earned had gone.
The account we called "The Future Fund."
I had believed it was paying for our wedding.
For our honeymoon.
For our first years together.
Instead...
It had been financing his affair.
I looked up at Daniel.
"How much?"
He slid one final sheet across the table.
I read the total once.
Then again.
My hands began to shake.
$86,430.
Nearly every dollar I had spent three years saving.
I closed my eyes.
It wasn't the money that hurt.
It was realizing every romantic weekend Garrett claimed was a "business conference" had been spent with my sister.
Every excuse.
Every lie.
Every kiss he gave me afterward.
All of it had been rehearsed.
Daniel broke the silence.
"Sienna..."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
I took a deep breath.
"No."
"I'm not."
He hesitated.
"There's something else."
I looked at him.
"What now?"
He opened another folder.
"The house wasn't the only thing Garrett signed."
My stomach tightened.
"What do you mean?"
"The engagement contract."
I frowned.
"That wasn't legally important."
Daniel gave a small smile.
"Actually... one clause was."
Months before, when Garrett and I combined our finances, my accountant had insisted we sign a cohabitation agreement.
Nothing dramatic.
Just practical.
It stated that if either party intentionally misused joint funds for undisclosed personal relationships, the injured party could seek reimbursement during the division of shared assets.
At the time, Garrett had laughed.
"You always prepare for everything."
I remembered smiling.
"My father taught me never to mix love with paperwork."
Garrett had signed anyway.
Without reading it.
Again.
That afternoon, Daniel filed a civil claim.
Not for revenge.
For reimbursement.
Every unauthorized expense.
Every hotel.
Every flight.
Every piece of jewelry.
Every dollar.
By evening, Garrett received the notice.
He called immediately.
"You sued me?"
"I requested my money back."
"It wasn't your money!"
"It came from our joint account."
"We were engaged!"
"Exactly."
Silence.
Then he exploded.
"I loved you!"
The words almost made me laugh.
"You don't spend someone else's future proving you love them."
He hung up.
Three days later, the story exploded online.
Not because of me.
Because someone leaked the court documents.
News headlines appeared everywhere.
"Bride Discovers Fiancé Used Wedding Fund to Finance Affair With Her Sister."
The comments poured in by the thousands.
Most people couldn't believe it.
Some called it unbelievable.
Others called it karma.
Garrett stopped answering his phone.
His company placed him on temporary leave while they reviewed complaints about his misuse of corporate travel reimbursements.
One investigation led to another.
The lies were beginning to collapse.
Meanwhile...
Melody's perfect social media life began to crack.
Followers noticed Garrett had disappeared from her posts.
The smiling couple photos stopped.
Instead...
There were vague quotes.
"Not everyone survives hard seasons."
"Protect your peace."
People started asking questions.
She deleted comments.
Then deleted entire posts.
But the internet never forgets.
Screenshots spread faster than she could erase them.
One rainy afternoon, my mother called.
She sounded exhausted.
"Sienna..."
I hadn't spoken to her in weeks.
"What is it?"
"Your sister is here."
I closed my eyes.
"And?"
"She wants to see you."
"I don't."
My mother sighed.
"She's crying."
I remembered all the nights I had cried because of Melody.
She hadn't come looking for me then.
"I'm sorry, Mom."
"But not today."
That evening...
The doorbell rang.
I looked through the peephole.
Melody.
She stood alone.
No makeup.
No designer clothes.
No confident smile.
Just tears.
Against my better judgment...
I opened the door.
She looked thinner.
Tired.
"Sienna..."
"What do you want?"
She lowered her head.
"I'm sorry."
The words hung in the air.
Too late.
Too small.
She looked up again.
"Garrett left."
I said nothing.
"He moved out yesterday."
Still nothing.
"He says everything is falling apart because of me."
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
Finally, I asked the question that had been haunting me for weeks.
"Did you ever love him?"
Melody's eyes filled with tears.
"I thought I did."
"And now?"
She shook her head slowly.
"I don't think he loved either of us."
I looked at my sister.
Really looked at her.
For the first time, she didn't seem like the girl who always stole what belonged to someone else.
She looked like someone who had finally discovered that taking another person's happiness never creates your own.
But before I could respond...
Her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
Her face turned white.
"What is it?" I asked.
She whispered only four words.
"He's been arrested."
I stared at her.
"What?"
She looked up, trembling.
"The police..."
"They arrested Garrett."
And neither of us yet knew that the reason had nothing to do with the affair...
May you like
It was something far bigger.
Something that would change all of our lives forever.
