Chapter 2
Jordan looked at Nia one final time.
Then he turned toward me.
"She wanted me to help her get something."
I frowned.
"Get what?"
Nia immediately stepped forward.
"Jordan, that's enough."
He ignored her.
"Money."
I stared at him.
"Money?"
He nodded.
"She told me you had been hiding money from her."
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
I looked at Nia.
"What money?"
She folded her arms.
"This is ridiculous."
Jordan shook his head.
"Then why did you ask me to come here?"
"Because I needed help!"
"With what?" I demanded.
Nia's eyes flashed.
"With figuring out why you've been keeping secrets!"
I let out a bitter laugh.
"You brought your ex-boyfriend into our bedroom because you think I'm hiding money?"
She looked away.
Jordan pointed toward the dresser.
"She wanted me to help find the key to your safe."
My entire body went cold.
Our safe.
The small fireproof safe inside my walk-in closet.
It contained personal documents, emergency cash, and financial records.
Nia knew about it.
She also knew I kept certain business documents there because I owned a construction company with my older brother, David.
But she had never shown much interest in those papers before.
I slowly turned toward her.
"You were searching through my things?"
Nia's face reddened.
"Marcus, you're acting like I robbed you!"
"Did you?"
Her mouth fell open.
"How dare you?"
I walked toward the closet.
Nia stepped into my path.
"Marcus, please."
I moved around her.
Inside, several storage boxes had been shifted.
The small drawer beneath my hanging shirts stood open.
And the safe was no longer hidden behind the box where I kept it.
It sat in plain view.
I stared at it.
Then I noticed something that made my stomach tighten.
Scratch marks surrounded the keypad.
Someone had tried to open it.
I turned around.
"Who did this?"
Neither answered.
"WHO TOUCHED MY SAFE?"
Jordan raised both hands.
"I didn't damage it."
Nia glared at him.
"Jordan!"
He looked at her.
"I'm not taking the blame for this."
I approached him.
"Then tell me exactly what happened."
He swallowed.
"Nia called me this morning. She said you were planning to leave her."
I stared at my wife.
"What?"
Jordan continued.
"She said you had transferred money into an account she couldn't access."
I shook my head.
"That's not true."
Nia interrupted.
"Then explain the bank statements!"
My heart sank.
"What statements?"
She marched toward the dresser and pulled an envelope from beneath a stack of clothes.
Then she threw it onto the bed.
"These!"
I opened it.
Inside were printed financial records.
They showed several transfers from my personal checking account into another account.
The amounts were substantial.
Twelve thousand dollars.
Eighteen thousand.
Thirty-five thousand.
I recognized every transaction.
But I also recognized something else.
Nia had been looking at records she had no reason to misunderstand if she had simply asked me about them.
"These are business investment transfers," I said.
She laughed.
"Investment transfers?"
"Yes."
"To a woman named Evelyn Brooks?"
I froze.
There it was.
The real problem.
Evelyn.
My former college friend.
A financial consultant who had recently helped my brother and me restructure our company's investments.
Nia had always been suspicious of her.
Not because Evelyn had done anything inappropriate.
But because Nia believed men and women couldn't maintain professional friendships without romantic feelings becoming involved.
I looked at the statements.
"Evelyn manages the investment project."
Nia crossed her arms.
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"She doesn't personally receive the money. The account is held by a company she advises."
Jordan looked confused.
"Wait. You told me Evelyn was his mistress."
My head snapped toward Nia.
"What?"
She looked furious.
"Jordan, shut up!"
He shook his head.
"No. You told me he was cheating and hiding money."
I stared at her.
"You told your ex-boyfriend I was having an affair?"
She said nothing.
Something inside me began to break.
I had spent four years trying to make Nia feel secure.
I had changed jobs to spend more time at home.
Stopped attending unnecessary business dinners.
Introduced her to every woman I worked with.
And whenever she felt insecure, I listened.
But apparently none of that mattered.
She had decided I was guilty.
And instead of speaking with me, she invited the one man who had already threatened our marriage into our bedroom.
"How long have you been discussing my finances with Jordan?"
Nia looked away.
"Not long."
"How long?"
She hesitated.
"About three weeks."
I closed my eyes.
Three weeks.
Twenty-one days of secret conversations.
Twenty-one days of lies.
Twenty-one days of my wife looking me in the eyes while planning to search through my belongings.
Jordan shifted uncomfortably.
"Marcus, I didn't know everything."
I stared at him.
"You knew enough."
He nodded.
"You're right."
Nia turned toward him.
"Stop apologizing to him!"
Jordan looked at her.
"Why? Because the story you told me wasn't true?"
She stepped closer.
"I told you what I believed!"
"And you said you had proof."
"I do!"
I held up the statements.
"This isn't proof of an affair."
Nia looked between us.
Then she said something that silenced the room.
"Maybe not. But I know about the apartment."
My stomach tightened.
"What apartment?"
She smiled bitterly.
"The apartment you rented downtown."
I stared at her.
I had rented an apartment.
That much was true.
But it wasn't what she thought.
And the reason behind it was something I had been struggling to explain for weeks.
Jordan turned toward me.
"Marcus, you really do have another apartment?"
I looked at him.
"Yes."
Nia threw up her hands.
"SEE?"
I took a breath.
"But not for the reason you think."
She laughed.
"Then tell us!"
I looked directly at her.
"The apartment is for someone who's coming to stay in Atlanta."
"Who?"
I hesitated.
Not because I wanted to hide the truth.
But because the situation was painful.
Someone else's privacy was involved.
Nia stepped closer.
"Who, Marcus?"
I looked into her eyes.
"My mother."
She froze.
Jordan frowned.
"Your mother?"
I nodded.
"She's coming home after completing treatment."
Nia stared at me.
"Treatment for what?"
My throat tightened.
I had wanted to tell her when my mother was ready.
But the truth was already spilling into the open.
"My mother has been receiving treatment for cancer."
The room fell silent.
Nia's expression changed.
"What?"
I swallowed.
"She didn't want anyone outside the immediate family to know until she understood her prognosis."
Nia stepped backward.
"But you told David?"
"He's her son."
She stared at me.
"And you didn't tell your wife?"
I looked down.
"I was trying to respect her wishes. She asked me not to share it yet."
For a moment, Nia looked ashamed.
Then her expression hardened again.
"So you lied to me."
I stared at her.
"I kept my mother's medical information private because she asked me to."
"That's still a secret."
I shook my head.
"Not every private matter is a betrayal."
Jordan exhaled.
"Man, I think I should leave."
I looked toward the door.
"Yes. You should."
He began walking.
Then stopped.
"Marcus, there's something else."
Nia's face went pale.
"Jordan, don't."
He looked at her.
"I'm sorry, but I can't keep covering for you."
My heart began pounding.
"What now?"
Jordan swallowed.
"Nia didn't just ask me to help open your safe."
He glanced toward the envelope.
"She asked me to help her move money before you found out what she'd already done."
I stared at him.
"Move what money?"
Nia rushed toward him.
"JORDAN!"
He stepped away.
Then he looked straight at me.
May you like
"Marcus, your wife borrowed money using your name."
And suddenly, everything I thought I knew about my marriage began collapsing around me.
