Chapter 1

Melody Sinclair constantly nagged me about being frugal. She made me wear the same patched-up suit for five long years.

Even the gifts I gave her on holidays were returned for cash. She claimed she was saving up to buy me a brand-new car once we had enough.

But on our wedding anniversary, she took the two hundred thousand she had saved and bought a Porsche Panamera for her childhood sweetheart.

She even left a comment on his post: "I'll be the one to make your childhood dreams come true."

That was when I realized her wedding ring had been replaced with a cheap knockoff. Melody's thriftiness was nothing more than a calculated scheme against me.

I immediately returned the diamond pendant I'd bought for her. Instead, I handed her a plain, ordinary greeting card while she looked on with anticipation.

"The gift is small, but the sentiment is deep. Pure gold can't compare to my sincere heart, don't you agree?"

1

Melody burst out laughing when she heard that.

"Stop joking. Come on, take out the real gift. Why are you teasing me?"

She fumbled around my pockets for a long time, but she couldn't find what she was looking for. Her smile froze instantly.

"What kind of joke is this? Today is our fifth anniversary. Giving me a piece of paper is a bit too much, don't you think?"

"Is it because you can't return it for cash, or because it's not the gift you truly want?"

My direct confrontation made her face sour immediately.

"You're just saying that because I haven't asked for anything expensive over the years. You think I'm cheap now, don't you? To think you'd use a scrap of paper to fool me!"

She snatched the card from my hand and threw it on the floor.

Not satisfied, she stomped on it with her heel. That one move crushed the last bit of love I had for her.

Melody was famous for her penny-pinching. She'd haggle over cents at the grocery store.

She even insisted on buying household items that were about to expire just to save a few bucks.

I gave her five thousand dollars a month for living expenses. Logically, she didn't need to be that cheap.

Every holiday, I prepared gifts for her. From luxury handbags to custom-designed jewelry, the price tags were limitless.

By chance, I discovered the gifts I gave her had been swapped for high-quality fakes. I thought the boutiques were selling counterfeits and was about to call the cops.

She stopped me, looking incredibly awkward.

"Honey, actually... I returned those things for cash. I used the replicas so you wouldn't notice. Please don't be mad."

Under my questioning, she told me the truth with a look of grievance.

She said she had been overly frugal because she wanted to save enough to buy me a luxury car. As a housewife with no income, this was the only way she could think of to contribute.

I was moved and felt guilty for doubting her. I decided to silently support her goal.

I became as frugal as she was. I didn't even throw away my suit after five years of patches.

I thought I understood her sacrifice. Until the night before our anniversary, I saw a post from her childhood friend, Weston Reed.

He was celebrating his new Porsche Panamera, worth over two hundred thousand dollars.

I didn't think much of it at first. But my sharp eyes caught Melody's comment in the section below.

"I'll be the one to make your childhood dreams come true."

The comment was deleted within thirty seconds. Suspicious, I checked her bank records.

There was a recent transaction for exactly two hundred thousand dollars.

I finally realized her so-called "frugality" was just a way to embezzle my money.

She was terrified I'd notice the missing funds, so she used these cunning tactics. For five years, her devotion was entirely for another man!

Melody's shrill voice snapped me back to reality. She picked up the card, tearing it to pieces while screaming.

"Stefan Blackwood, do I not deserve a decent gift? How dare you humiliate me with this trash!"

I glanced at the diamond ring on her finger. The platinum band showed faint signs of rust.

Clearly, she had even replaced the ring that symbolized our marriage with a fake.

Watching her throw a tantrum, I smiled and said nothing. After half a minute, she realized something was wrong.

She looked down at the torn pieces of the card in her hand.