Chapter 4

I slammed the door shut.

By the time I walked out of the apartment complex, the sky was pitch black.

Streetlights illuminated the busy roads.

I stood on the sidewalk as the cold wind blew past my collar. I looked down at my worn-out jacket.

The cuffs were fraying.

I had worn this jacket for three years.

Chloe had never once offered to buy me a new one.

Yet, when she bought clothes for Cody, she would buy multiple designer brands at once.

I stood by the curb for a moment, then pulled out my phone.

I opened my banking app.

Looking at the balance, my mind slowly calmed down.

My business had exploded today, netting me hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Chloe had no idea about this money.

She still thought I was the pathetic husband scraping by.

I had planned to tell her.

Now, there was no need.

I slid the phone back into my pocket and hailed a cab.

"Take me to the best restaurant downtown."

The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

I didn't care.

I hadn't had a decent meal in six months.

To save money, I ate cafeteria food for lunch, chewed on cheap bread for dinner, and drove Uber until dawn. Even when my stomach ached with hunger, I wouldn't spend a few dollars on a warm meal.

Every penny I saved had been handed over by my wife to feed her brother's bottomless pit of greed.

Today, I was done saving.

The cab pulled up in front of a high-end restaurant.

I opened the menu, and the prices of the dishes were numbers I could never have imagined spending before.

Whenever I went out with Chloe, she would nag if the bill exceeded thirty dollars.

But for Cody’s birthday, she would happily throw a thousand-dollar party.

I closed the menu and told the waiter, "Bring me all of your signature dishes."

The waiter was stunned. "Sir, we have seven or eight signature dishes."

"Bring them all."

The dishes were served one by one.

I sat by the window, eating slowly and savoring every bite.

The steak was perfectly seared, the red wine was exquisite, and the desserts looked like edible art.

Every bite reminded me of the miserable, frugal life I had lived for the past six years.

The bill came to over four hundred dollars.

Before, this amount would have made me sick to my stomach.

Now, I felt nothing but pure satisfaction.

Leaving the restaurant, I took a cab back home.

When I pushed the door open, Chloe was sitting alone on the couch.

Hearing the door, she looked up at me.

She stood up, her first words filled with accusation. "Where have you been? Why are you back so late?"

She spoke as if I was the one who had made a mistake.

I tossed my keys onto the shoe rack.

"Out for dinner."

Chloe frowned.

"Dinner? Til this late? You went alone?"

"Yes."

"What did you eat?"

"Steak, red wine, and dessert."

Chloe's expression shifted.

"How much did you spend?"

"Four hundred dollars."