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My husband gave me 5.2 yuan on
Valentine’s Day, but gave my
sister–in–law 52,000 yuan
Chapter 1
Valentine’s Day and my husband, Mark, bless his pea–sized brain, gives me a grand total of 52 cents in a Venmo. Meanwhile, his widowed sister–in–law, Brenda, is flaunting a $52,000
wire transfer from him on her Instagram.
I whipped out my phone and confronted him with the screenshot. His response? Pure,
unadulterated gaslighting.
“Brenda is practically my mother! Her
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husband was my brother, and he is no longer
here, so it’s my responsibility to take care of
her. You’re being so petty.”
I almost choked on my latte. I started listing
all the crap he’d bought her since we got
married.
Designer handbags, Rolex watches, even
Victoria’s Secret lingerie that looked a little
too personal for a “mother figure.”
“Adding this latest stunt, that’s $620,000.
How exactly are you planning on paying me
back?”
He looked genuinely shocked. I couldn’t resist
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He looked genuinely snoсkea. I couldn’t resist
patting his cheek with a smile that probably
would’ve scared small children.
“Don’t tell me you forgot, sweetie. You moved into my house. Every penny you’ve been showering on Brenda is actually my money.”
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Hearing that made Mark visibly squirm. His voice dropped an octave as he tried to
defend himself.
“What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours! We’re family! Don’t be so dramatic.”
My blood pressure was doing the tango. I could feel my eyes starting to water, damn it.
“You know we’re family, huh? So, what was
the point of sending me 52 cents on Valentine’s Day? Did you think I’d be happy to pick up a candy from the dollar store?”
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Last Valentine’s Day, Mark, who’s usually
about as romantic as a tax audit, actually
surprised me with a giant bouquet of cherry
blossom branches. I swear, he has the
romance of a rock, so I was pleasantly surprised when he brought this home.
We’d known each other for seven years,
married for three, and it was the first actual gift he’d ever given me. I cried like a baby.
So, yeah, I was expecting something special
this year.
I woke up early and made him a full–on
gourmet breakfast. I batted my eyelashes at
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him when he came stumbling out of bed,
rubbing his eyes.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, honey!”
He snapped awake like someone had just
thrown a bucket of ice water on him. He
fumbled for his phone, muttering,
“Crap, I almost forgot!”
Then, the notification dinged on my phone. I grinned, thinking maybe he’d sent me a sweet message with a little money.
He’d gotten a huge promotion at work this year, pulling in six figures a month. I was
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hoping for maybe $5200, or $52,000?
Nah, whatever. Anything from Mark would be
great.
I tapped the notification, and my smile froze
on my face.
I’d imagined a dozen different scenarios, but never in a million years did I expect… 52
cents?!
Fifty–two freaking cents!
I stared at Mark, who was slurping down his oatmeal like nothing was wrong. He even had the nerve to look at me, like he was waiting
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for a gold star.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, babe! Why haven’t
you posted it on Instagram yet?”
Swallowing down the rage, I told myself maybe he had another surprise planned.
I opened Instagram to post a story just for him, but that’s when I saw Brenda’s post.
Screenshot of “My Sweet Little Mark” sending her a $52,000 transfer, bold as hell.
Brenda replied with a kissy–face emoji and
the caption, “The best! heart emoji”
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I slammed my phone on the table, demanding
an explanation.
He actually had the gall to say, “Brenda is like my mother! My brother passed away, so it is my responsibility to take care of her. And it’s your money anyway, so what’s the harm?”
Before I could completely lose it, the doorbell
rang.
Mark perked up like a dog hearing the word
“walk.”
“Brenda!”
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Sure enough, Brenda waltzed in, all smiles,
and immediately grabbed my hand.
“I heard you two fighting from the hallway! It’s not even March yet, no need to fight, honey, we women should soften up, apologize to
your husband. Then everything should be
okay.”
She gave Mark a playful scolding, her voice dripping with fake concern.
“Mark, how many times have I told you, Heidi is not like me! She’s got a temper, go ahead and comfort her.”
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