My Wedding Dress In The Garage His Widow In My Home Chapter 03
In the days after the party, Owen and I barely spoke.
He continued to leave early and come home late. Paige and Sadie were still living in our apartment. It was as if I’d never been the one forced to take that “family photo.”
An email from the contractor popped up, a reminder to pay the forty-eight-hundred-dollar invoice for the ramp contract.
My mother had been having trouble getting around since her knee surgery. Once fall hit in Duluth, the rain and snow made the front steps treacherous for her.
The money had already been set aside in the joint account Owen and I shared.
I logged into online banking and entered the payment amount, but the page bounced back with an insufficient funds notice.
I stared at the screen for a few seconds, then refreshed the page.
The balance was unchanged.
I opened the transaction history. A transfer of $4,800 sat there, clear as day, from two days earlier.
The memo line read: Rent.
The recipient wasn’t the contractor.
It was Paige’s landlord.
I stared at the record, a chill spreading through me, starting in my hands and feet.
The transfer had happened the day after the engagement party.
That morning, Owen had told me he knew the wedding and the new house were both expensive and that he was going to watch his spending for a while.
I printed the bank statement and walked into the living room.
Owen and Paige were sitting side by side on the couch, a laptop open between them.
On the screen was the floor plan for the duplex we were supposed to close on.
Paige pointed to a section of the first floor, speaking with the easy authority of the homeowner.
“The lower level probably shouldn’t have carpet. Sadie spills juice everywhere. Hardwood would be easier to clean.”
Owen nodded.
“Okay. I’ll have the contractor change it.”
“And maybe we could add a row of low cabinets by the window for her toys.”
“Sure.”
Paige scrolled down again.
“What about an open kitchen here? I love to cook, and I could keep an eye on Sadie while I do.”
They discussed flooring and paint colors, the child’s room and the kitchen.
No one asked for my opinion.
Most of the down payment for that house was mine.
And the first floor had originally been intended for my mother.
But in the future they were designing, my name was nowhere to be found.
I set the bank statement on top of the keyboard.
“Who transferred this money?”
Owen glanced at it, and the smile vanished from his face.
“I did.”
Paige immediately lowered her head, twisting her hands together.
“I’m so sorry, Nora. My landlord kept pressuring me. I really had no other choice…”
I ignored her, my eyes fixed on Owen.
“That was for my mother’s ramp.”
“I know.”
“You knew, and you still sent it to her landlord without asking me?”
Owen snapped the laptop shut, his tone already sharp with impatience.
“If Paige didn’t pay her rent, she and Sadie were going to be evicted. She has a child. What was I supposed to do?”
“She’s living in our home right now.”
“But she still has to hold onto her old place. Once the leak is fixed, they’ll have to move back.”
I almost laughed in disbelief.
“So you paid to keep her apartment with the money that was meant to keep my mother safe?”
Owen frowned.
“Don’t put it like that. I just moved the funds around temporarily.”
“The contractor is scheduled to start tomorrow.”
“Then he can wait.”
He got to his feet, as if I were the one being unreasonable.
“Your mother doesn’t need the ramp this second. Paige getting evicted is the more urgent problem. Why can’t you think about who needs help more right now?”
I pointed at the statement.
“This is a joint account. You should have told me before you transferred anything.”
“If I had told you, would you have agreed?”
“No.”
“Exactly.”
The moment he finished, Paige tugged lightly on his sleeve.
“Owen, please don’t fight with Nora because of me. Maybe I can figure something else out…”
Owen immediately patted her hand.
“What are you going to do? Just stay out of this.”
Then he turned back to me, his voice colder than before.
“Are you really going to humiliate a single mother over this little bit of money? Nora, I thought you, of all people, would understand what she’s going through.”
This little bit of money.
That was the money meant to keep my mother from falling every time she went up or down the steps.
It was money I had saved, dollar by dollar.
But in his eyes, if Paige needed it, my mother’s safety came second.
I couldn’t say a word.
Not because I was wrong, but because I finally saw it clearly—his sense of responsibility was reserved for one person.
And I was always the one expected to pay the price.
I turned toward the bedroom, my mind already on my suitcase.
My hand touched the closet door, but then I stopped.
The duplex was closing tomorrow.
Most of the down payment was mine, but Owen had handled the purchase contract, the escrow paperwork, and all the loan documents.
He had been willing to transfer $4,800 without my permission.
What about the house?
I couldn’t just leave.
Not yet.
Before I lost any more, I needed to check every dollar and every document.
I heard Owen’s footsteps behind me.
He must have thought my silence meant I was giving in, because his tone softened.
“Nora, don’t get worked up. About the new house—”
He stopped abruptly.
I turned to look at him.
The flash of panic on his face didn’t escape me.
I didn’t ask any more questions.
I just picked up my laptop and opened our shared cloud drive.