“William, I fell in love with you when I thought you were an ordinary retired man who drank black coffee and read books. What do you want me to say?”
The next morning, I took him to a small clothing shop near my apartment.
William was used to custom-made clothes.
I stood beside a discount rack holding up a blue shirt.
“This one will look good on you.”
He smiled.
That became our new life.
He stayed with me.
We cooked dinner at home.
We watched movies on Saturday nights.
I went to work in the mornings, and sometimes he waited for me in the park so we could walk home together.
Eventually, I took a second job two evenings a week.
William hated that.
“You don’t need to do this.”
“Yes, I do. Electricity doesn’t get paid with romance.”
He laughed.
But then I noticed something strange.
His children had almost disappeared.
Before William supposedly lost his money, they called constantly.
Now they barely called at all.
Near the end of the second month, I called Diane.
“Your father has been staying with me for two months. Don’t you want to see him?”
She was silent.
Then she said,
“Soon.”
Three days later, all three children showed up.
Diane, James, and Robert.
William was sitting in the kitchen.
I made coffee.
Nobody touched it.
Finally, Diane looked at me.
“Sophie, there’s something we need to tell you.”
My stomach dropped.
I looked at William.
He lowered his eyes.
“What’s going on?”
Diane took a deep breath.
“Our father didn’t lose urm anything.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“The house is fine. The business is fine. The investments are fine.”
The room went completely silent.
I turned toward William.
“You lied to me?”
“Sophie…”
“You lied to me for two months?”
Diane interrupted.
“It was our idea. We wanted to know whether you would stay if you believed the money was gone.”
My hands started shaking.
Not because I was relieved he was still rich.
Because I was hurt.
For two months, I had worked extra hours.
I had sat awake calculating bills.
I had worried about food, electricity, and rent.
I had tried to protect William from feeling ashamed.
And all that time…
They were testing me.
I walked into the bedroom.
This time, I really did pack my own suitcase.
When I returned, William went pale.
“Sophie, please.”
I looked at him.
“I passed your money test.”
