My father paid my fianceé $50,000 to leave me and marry my cousin instead. When I found the email proving it, my entire world shattered in the span of 3 seconds. I’d been working late at my apartment, finishing up a quarterly report for the accounting firm where I worked. James, my fiance of 4 years, had texted saying he was staying over at his place that night because of an early morning meeting.
My father paid my fianceé $50,000 to leave me and marry my cousin instead. When I found the email proving it, my entire world shattered in the span of 3 seconds. I’d been working late at my apartment, finishing up a quarterly report for the accounting firm where I worked. James, my fiance of 4 years, had texted saying he was staying over at his place that night because of an early morning meeting.
We were supposed to get married in 6 months. The invitations were already ordered. My dress was hanging in my closet wrapped in protective plastic. I was exhausted, my eyes burning from staring at spreadsheets for 12 hours straight. I reached for my phone to set an alarm and saw James’ laptop sitting on the coffee table. He’d left it here yesterday.
The screen was still on, just dimmed. I wasn’t snooping. I wasn’t the kind of person who went through their partner’s things, but the email notification at the top of his screen caught my eye because the sender’s name was my father’s. My hand moved before my brain could stop it. Subject line re our arrangement. I clicked it open.
