Chapter 1

1 Christmas Eve, and Sarah, the sales superstar at work, posted a picture on Instagram of a solid gold apple. Like, a huge one.

"My boss gifted me this sweet little apple," she captioned it.

I commented, "The boss's wife might want one too." The post was deleted faster than you can say "Santa."

Next thing I knew, Mark, my husband, was barging into my office, yelling, "Why are you trying to shame her? She's the top seller! She deserves it!"

Outside, Sarah was putting on a tearful show, with everyone at the office gathered around, cooing at her. Mark stormed out to join them, all worried and comforting.

Five minutes later, Sarah posted a screenshot in the company chat of a $52,000 bank transfer, tagging me.

"Still want one, Mrs. Boss?" she wrote.

I knew this was Mark giving her the green light. Any other employee who'd tried to pull something like this with me in the past had been shown the door. But this time? I didn't even care.

......

I could hear the shower running; Mark had gotten home first and was in the bathroom.

On the coffee table, there was a crumpled little gift box. Inside was a rose gold ring with a few tiny diamonds. I figured it was an early birthday gift, even though it was still a few days out. I slipped it on my ring finger to check the size. Nope. Too small.

I grabbed my phone and looked up the brand online. Nothing.

I snapped a photo and sent it to their customer service. They replied quickly.

"Hi, this ring is a complimentary gift with the purchase of a diamond necklace! Your husband must have hidden the necklace to surprise you. Hope you have a great day!"

Great day? Not so much. My birthday, and I get a throwaway gift?

Mark's phone buzzed, and I glanced at the screen. It was Sarah.

I put the ring back in the box and started to get ready to go out. Tonight was my birthday and I'd made a reservation at the restaurant where we had our first date. If it wasn't for the drama at work earlier, I would have been there waiting for Mark already.

Mark, wrapped in a towel, came out of the bathroom, dripping wet. He grabbed his phone and went straight back into the shower.

When he came out again, he ran right into me on my way out the door.

His voice was annoyed, "Why haven't you made dinner? Where are you all dressed up for?"

I didn't look at him, just said, "Aren't you going out?"

I saw in the group chat that Sarah had announced her bonus and was inviting everyone to a celebratory dinner. She tagged Mark, of course.

Plenty of people were saying the boss's presence would be the best prize for their #1 seller.

Mark didn't answer me, just frowned, taking in what I was wearing. "You going too?"

He thought I was all dressed up to join the dinner.

I shook my head.

He finally relaxed, not even noticing my bad mood.

He pulled me over to the couch and pushed the little box toward me.

"I picked this out especially for you. You always said I never got you a real wedding ring. Well, now you got one!"

He opened the box and went to put the ring on me.

I noticed that one of the tiny diamonds had fallen out.

He held out the ring, trying to get me to put my hand out. "C'mon, try it on. It should fit."

I considered trying it on just to show him it was too small, but it seemed like too much work.

"Nah, it's okay. I don't really wear jewelry anyway. You can put it away."

I just wanted to get out of the house.

He frowned again. "What's with the attitude, Amy? You're the one who always said you regretted not getting a ring when we got married. Now I get you one, and you don't even want to try it on? What's the deal?"

"If it's something someone else didn't want, I don't want it either."

His phone buzzed again, and I could hear Sarah's voice on the other end.

"Mark, where are you? Everyone's waiting!"

"Yeah, yeah, coming!" he replied, his tone completely changing.

"Well, it's not my fault if you don't want the ring. Don't come whining later! I might be out late, don't wait up for me."

He was clearly waiting for me to say something. I used to always ask where he was going and who he'd be with.

This time, I just nodded.

He turned and headed to the bedroom to change, whistling to himself, all happy.