“Hello?” I said cautiously. “Is this Jake’s wife?” The voice on the other end was light and almost cheerful. “Who’s asking?” I replied, my stomach tightening.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself,” she said mockingly. “I’m Anna. Jake’s girlfriend.”
The world tilted.
“What?”
“Yeah,” she continued breezily, as if she hadn’t just detonated my entire reality. “Look, I don’t have time for drama, okay? Jake promised he’d get us a downtown apartment, but he said he can’t because you’re spending all his money.”
I gripped the edge of my desk, knuckles turning white.
“I’m spending his—what are you talking about?”
“Oh, please.” She cut me off with a sarcastic laugh. “Jake told me everything about you. How clingy you are.
How boring. How… completely useless. Honestly, it’s no wonder he’s moving on.
A man like him deserves better.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. “Why are you telling me this?” I managed, my voice shaking. “Because you need to let him go,” she said.
“Step aside and let Jake have a real chance at happiness. With me.”
Before I could respond—demand answers, scream, anything—the line went dead. For a long moment, I just sat there, my phone still pressed to my ear.
Slowly, I lowered it and stared at the wall, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Was she telling the truth? Was Jake really capable of something so cruel?
Or was this just some twisted prank? I didn’t know which possibility scared me more—that she was lying… or that she wasn’t. For two days, I couldn’t shake Anna’s words.
They replayed in my mind, tangled with Jake’s smug suggestion about “saving for our future.” None of it made sense. The late nights, the sudden secrecy with his phone, how quickly he dismissed my concerns—it all pointed to something I had willfully ignored. How had I been so blind?
But Jake had no idea I knew about Anna—and that gave me an advantage. That evening, I found him lounging on the couch, feet propped up, scrolling on his phone like he didn’t have a care in the world. I took a deep breath, forced a bright smile, and walked over.
“I’ve been thinking about your idea,” I said lightly. His head snapped up, eyes brightening. “Yeah?”
I nodded.
“I think you’re right. I should take over the bills.”
Jake’s grin stretched ear to ear. He leaned back, looking like the cat who got the cream.
“I knew you’d see it my way. It just makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“Totally,” I replied smoothly. What he didn’t know was that I had already set everything in motion.
That afternoon, I had drained every dollar from our joint savings account and moved it into an account under my name. I called our landlord to say we wouldn’t be renewing the lease. I even canceled the utilities—water, power, internet.
For the rest of the week, I played the perfect wife. I smiled, agreed with him on everything, and acted supportive. Behind the scenes, though, I was digging.
I went through his emails, his bank statements, and even checked his social media. What I found made everything crystal clear: Anna hadn’t lied. Jake was using me to bankroll his fantasy life with her.
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