Chapter 42
“Excuse me, I need to make a call.” I dialed Antonio’s number, but he hung up before I could say a word.
tried several times, always with the same result. It even. checked if my phone was working, and it was, it even had a full battery.
Finally, Eloise answered and said, “Antonio is cooking for me right now. If it’s urgent, call back later.”
Then she hung up. Were they together all this time?
Without hesitation I tried to find some money in my purse, I remembered I had some when I was hospitalized. The money wasn’t there.
I tried using his card, only to find it deactivated.
Desperate, I rummaged through my bag and found the card with 10,000 dollars that my parents had given me when I got married. It was originally meant for our future children, the
ones we never had.
Yes, when we married we had planned to have a big family with many children. We had many dreams that now have been shattered.
Having lost all hope in this marriage, I handed the card to the hospital cashier.
A few minutes later, I saw the cashier frown, so I asked anxiously, “Is there a problem with the card?”
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With her head down, she said, “There’s no money left on this card. It says ‘No Funds“”
“No way!” I blurted out.
How was this possible? I never used this card before, so it was not possible to have no funds.
The cashier tried to comfort me, saying, “Don’t worry, Dr. Kaufman can cover this. Why don’t you wait a bit?”
I looked down, feeling utterly helpless. Just then, someone handed over a bank card. “I will take care of it.”
I turned my head and saw a familiar face–Jarvis Clayton, my first boyfriend. I had not seen him in years, but I recognized him..
He was dressed in a white coat and glasses. After paying for me, he left without a word.
I was so shocked and surprised that I couldn’t even thank him before he left, which left me with a sense of embarrassment.
“You see? All is ok now,” the cashier said with kind eyes.
My eyes fell on my card, and a sense of urgency propelled me to call a friend at the bank to check.
“Hi Grace, how are you feeling? I heard the surgery was a success!” My friend was so good but had no idea of all that was happening.
“Hello, thank you, yes, I am happy to be alive. Can you do me a favor please? I am about to check out from the hospital and I think my card is not working,” I tried to control my shaky
vojce.
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“Oh, of course! Give me some minutes and I will get you the info, I already have your data here,” he quickly answered and I thanked him.
Soon, I got a reply, “Antonio funneled the entire ten thousand to Eloise.”
Sitting in the ward, I struggled to process the information, feeling a lump in my throat.
Back a few days ago, I remembered seeing something on Eloise’s social media accounts. She was flaunting something. new she had gotten from a “secret admirer.””
Was that from Antonio?
Eloise’s post stung even more. She went out shopping for the latest Hermes bag with Antonio while I couldn’t even afford my medical bills.
I was extremely surprised and hurt, so I went through my phone to find the picture and I liked her post out of spite.
Soon after, Antonio called me out of the blue. “Are you mocking Eloise by liking her post? She bought that Hermes bag with her award money from an experiment. Maybe you can win an award and impress us.”
Eloise’s sad, choked voice came through, “Antonio, it’s not her fault. She’s from a poor family; she’s probably never seen a Hermes bag before.”
Antonio, in his haste to console her, left the call open.
“You are right, as always, baby. You deserve that and more,”
he told her.
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I heard the sound of them kissing and even my cat meowing.
Then, the sound from the other end grew louder and clearer, until they stopped with a gasp from her.
Eloise finally noticed the flashing phone screen. “Don’t
overthink it. I was just playing with the cat,” she said, almost ás if she knew I was listening.
“Why do you care what she thinks?” Antonio snapped before ending the call.
I managed to ask, “Did you give my parents‘ money to Eloise?”
He seemed not to care at all while replying, “Yes, I did. That’s part of our marital assets, and I have the right to spend it.”
He then cut the call and left me completely alone. The pain felt in my heart was ten times more than the one I had felt in my head before the surgery.
Everything we had lived for was all a lie. The love and the promises, all of them, fabricated by him.
What was I going to do without money and without my husband? I was left all alone.
