I booked a private island to save my marriage, but he showed up with his mother and his ex: “You’ll cook while we enjoy ourselves”… so I canceled everything in front of them.
She sighed and rolled her eyes as if I were being irrational.
“Lydia, don’t start with the typical CEO drama, because you can concentrate on taking care of the food and making sure the villa stays tidy while we enjoy ourselves,” she said firmly.
He straightened his shirt collar and looked at the pilot, ignoring the surprise reflected on my face.
“They could do well to do something useful with their hands for once, instead of just giving orders to their employees,” he added.
Then Margot stepped forward and uttered the phrase that finally broke my patience.
“It’s the least you can do, considering you live off the money and status my son has worked so hard to earn,” she said with a smug smile.
I looked at Caleb, hoping he would defend me or at least correct the blatant lie his mother had just told.
He did neither; he simply adjusted his sunglasses and gave his father a satisfied smile.
I surprised myself by smiling back, but it was no longer the sweet smile of a wife trying to please her husband.
It was the expression of a woman who had finally awakened from a long and costly nightmare.
None of the people on that pier had any idea what was going to happen next.
“You’re absolutely right, Margot, and now I realize I’ve been doing too much for too long,” I said calmly.
Tessa let out a high-pitched giggle and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
—I’m glad she finally understands her place in the family— Tessa murmured to Margot.
I didn’t answer. Instead, I took my phone out of my bag and stood in the shade of the terminal.
I opened the luxury travel agency’s app and checked the booking, which included the island, the villa, the seaplane, the luxury bar, and all the private excursions.
Each of those one hundred and fifty thousand dollars was paid from my personal account.
Caleb shouted from the edge of the pier, and his voice echoed over the water.
“Lydia, stop playing with your phone and tell the pilot we’re ready to board immediately,” he ordered.
I raised my hand in a gesture of simulated obedience while my thumb remained suspended over the screen.
The option to cancel the entire reservation appeared in bold red letters, and I didn’t hesitate for a second.
I thought about all the nights I came home late smelling of expensive perfume, telling myself that I was paranoid and irrational.
I remembered Margot laughing at me for earning a man’s salary, while also claiming that I lacked the grace of a traditional woman.
I remembered the credit card statements that showed Caleb was buying designer jewelry and handbags for a woman whose name, I’m sure, was not Lydia.
I pressed the button firmly and watched as the screen confirmed that the refund was being processed.
A wave of peace washed over me, so deep that it was almost unfamiliar.
But I didn’t stop there. I immediately opened my banking app to take further action.
I cancelled Caleb’s secondary credit cards and revoked his access to our joint account, which was primarily funded by my dividends.
I moved my personal investments into the protected trust that my lawyer had set up months earlier, when I began to realize that my marriage was a lie.
Finally, I opened a secure file on my cloud drive called “Insurance Policy”.
Inside were detailed bank records that my accountant had discovered, which showed large deposits from Caleb into an account owned by Tessa.
I had been using my company’s profits to finance an apartment in the city and maintain the lifestyle of a woman who, according to him, was just an old friend.
Eighteen months of carefully woven lies had been financed with the same money he claimed to be managing for our future.
I turned towards the dock just as the travel manager approached the group with a tablet in his hand.
“Mr. Harrison, I’m afraid we’ve just received a high-priority alert regarding the complete cancellation of your trip,” the manager said.
Caleb took off his sunglasses and frowned.
“That’s impossible, because my wife just checked us in a moment ago,” he replied arrogantly.
The manager shook his head and pointed at the screen.
“The main holder of the reservation has cancelled everything, and the seaplane will not be leaving today,” he explained.
He added that the rescheduling would require an immediate payment of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Margot paled as she looked at the pilot, who was already starting to unload the luggage.
“Caleb, honey, pay the man so we can leave, because I’m sure Lydia is only doing this for attention,” she snapped.
Caleb dramatically pulled out his platinum card and handed it over.
