The house was in Marvin's hometown. A hundred and thirty-three hundred square feet, with a down payment of $130,000.

After that came the bride price. Fifteen installments.

Then there were the scattered transfers for things like renovations on his family's old house, appliances, plus three mortgage payments. Another $10,000 altogether.

Over the years, I'd sent Marvin a total of $100,000.

I dug up all the chat logs too and forwarded everything to Nathan Caldwell.

But something still didn't add up. The house had cost $130,000 as a down payment.

Where had Marvin gotten the other $98,000?

That evening, Marvin came home from work early.

He opened the door, saw me, and blinked. "Aren't you supposed to be on the late shift? Why are you home?"

I kept folding the clothes in my hands. "Oh, I quit."

"What happened? Was work getting to you?"

"It's nothing. It was just a side job. No big deal."

"We're not under that much pressure anymore anyway. No need to run yourself into the ground."

Marvin spoke in the same easy tone he always used, not a flicker of anything off in his eyes.

He smiled, ruffled my hair, and headed for the kitchen.

I sat on the couch and turned to watch his back as he busied himself at the stove.

Over the years, Marvin had treated me well enough. He cooked, he did the laundry, never let me lift a finger for any of it.

The only things he couldn't give me were a marriage and money.

"Marvin, I want to get married."

His hand on the spatula froze, just for a second.

He turned to look at me. "We will!"

"Next year. We'll do it next year!"

I didn't say anything else. I ate that meal with my mind somewhere far away.

I woke up in the middle of the night and reached for Marvin's phone again.

I opened the bank card he'd been using to save money. Scrolling through the transaction history, the truth stared back at me: every single deposit on this card was mine.

Four years, and Marvin hadn't saved a single cent.

The $98,000 that had been transferred out was all my money.

In other words, the bride price he'd paid was mine.

Then what about the house?

Where had the down payment gone?

In the pitch-dark room, the glow of the screen tore my heart open inch by inch.