Rage surged inside me. I opened PayPal, produced our marriage certificate, and showed it to them.
“We’re legally married. My wife’s card is in another man’s hands. He’s spent over fifty million dollars without my knowledge. If that’s not theft, then what is it?”
Andrew sneered confidently.
“I didn’t steal it. My girlfriend gave it to me! Of course, I can spend her money.”
He turned to Victoria with smug assurance.
“Honey, tell them. Did you give me this card, or did I steal it?”
She froze, her eyes flickering toward me, hesitation breaking through for a single second. That second enraged him. He slapped her arm sharply.
“What’s that supposed to mean, Victoria? Can’t bear to let him go?”
“No, Andrew, don’t get upset,” she soothed, clinging to his waist. Then she faced the police, her voice steady.
“It’s a misunderstanding. I gave him the card. It wasn’t stolen. He has my permission to use it.”
With those words, I became the fool.
The police, realizing this was more emotional conflict than crime, gave us a cold warning.
“Resolve your personal issues properly. Don’t waste police resources.”
As they prepared to leave, Andrew suddenly stopped them, his voice sharp with indignation.
“Don’t go! This man made a false report and damaged my reputation. I’ll hold him fully accountable!”
Victoria tugged his arm, her voice low and coaxing.
“Let it go. Don’t make things worse. Please—for my sake.”
“No! You’re too protective of him. Do you love him more than me?! If that’s the case, then live with him—I’ll just stay out of the way!”
Andrew shrieked and raged, more like a shrew than a man.
I could hardly believe it. The gentle, refined Victoria—betraying me for such a low-class, foul-tempered man?
Yet she trembled, terrified he would leave her, and so she turned on me instead.
“You’re the one at fault here. Go back and reflect on yourself for a few days.”
My heart splintered. The woman before me was a stranger.
Under Andrew’s demand that I be punished for “false reporting” and slander, the police took me in. As they led me to the patrol car, Victoria chased after us, her voice soft with pity.
“Andrew’s words are sharp, but his heart is kind. Next time you see him, just avoid him.”
I met her eyes with cold silence. Words are useless now.
At the station, I called Susan, my father’s trusted lawyer. I told her to slip the divorce agreement into the documents and trick Victoria into signing.