Karma Wears My Wedding Ring

"Lyra! Lyra! Open the door right now! I know you're inside!" Loud, aggressive pounding echoed through the living room, making my four-year-old daughter, Nyx, jolted in my arms. I frowned, set Nyx down gently on the sofa, and walked over to open the front door. My husband’s younger sister, Vesper, barged straight into the foyer without waiting for an invitation. Even though she always claimed to be frail and sickly, she was dressed head-to-toe in brand-new designer clothes, reeking of expensive perfume. "Why did you freeze the supplementary bank card I use?" Vesper demanded arrogantly, holding out her manicured hand. "Transfer fifty thousand dollars to my account immediately. I put a deposit down on a limited-edition handbag today, and the boutique is waiting for my payment!" "Fifty thousand dollars for a handbag?" I looked at her frigidly. "Vesper, that supplementary card is strictly for your hospital checkups and medication. Every month, I already give you a generous allowance, yet you spent eighty thousand dollars at luxury clubs last week alone." "So what if I did?" Vesper jeered, rolling her eyes in disgust. "My brother is the CEO of the company now! Why are you still acting like a stingy warden guarding the family money? You’re just a stay-at-home housewife who smells like kitchen grease all day!" Tsk, Mtcheew!. My chest tightened with anger, though I kept my voice calm. "Have you forgotten who built that company? I used my parents' house as collateral and nearly died of gastric bleeding to win our clients while your brother was still learning the ropes. She let out a sharp hiss, sucking her teeth. Mtcheew! "Abeg, don't tell me that“. Until our company finishes its quarterly tax audit next week, that card stays frozen." "You dare cut me off?!" Vesper’s face twisted with rage as she pointed a finger right at my nose. "Keep acting high and mighty, Lyra! My brother is already sick and tired of looking at your boring face! Wait until he finishes celebrating tonight he’ll teach you who the real boss of this family is!" "Celebrating tonight?" I narrowed my eyes, catching the strange slip in her words. "Jaxson flew to New York City yesterday for a three-day business trip. What could he possibly be celebrating tonight?" Vesper froze for a split second, her eyes darting away guiltily before she scoffed. "I meant celebrating his big contract in New York, obviously! Keep your pathetic money! I’ll just call my brother myself!" Tsk She spun around and slammed the front door so hard the hallway frames rattled. Standing in the quiet foyer, I rubbed my temples, annoyed by how entitled Vesper had become over the past few years. However, I didn't take her angry rambling to heart. Whenever Vesper didn't get money from me, she always made up spiteful lies to get under my skin. As night fell, I could finally relax after putting my daughter to bed. I grabbed my phone and mindlessly scrolled through i********: when a street fashion live broadcast caught my eye. I straightened up and focused on the screen, but the host had already switched the camera angle. My heart pounded, and my hands started to feel clammy as I held my phone. I checked the time and confirmed it was a live broadcast happening right here in Paris, France. Then I hurriedly exited i********: and video-called my husband, Jaxson. He was supposed to be on a three-day business trip in New York City, yet I just saw him on the live broadcast with another woman in his arms. Worse still, Vesper’s spiteful words from earlier "Wait until he finishes celebrating tonight" suddenly echoed in my ears. The phone rang for a long while before he finally answered the call. Jaxson’s camera shook slightly, and his handsome face appeared on my phone’s screen. He greeted me warmly, “Hey, honey!” "Where are you?" I asked urgently as my eyes scanned the footage from his end. He looked like he was in a corridor of a restaurant, and he was wearing a white shirt and tie. However, the figure I saw in the live broadcast wore a gray windbreaker. "I'm having dinner with a client. I came out to answer your call. What's up? Is there something wrong? Is Nyx asleep?" He asked. "Are you in New York City?" I sidestepped his question and asked again. "Of course I am. Why? Is something wrong?" He looked at me seriously through the camera, full of curiosity. "Vesper came to the house earlier demanding fifty thousand dollars for a handbag," I said, watching his expression closely through the screen. "When I refused, she said you were celebrating tonight." Jaxson let out a helpless sigh(Mtcheew) and rubbed his forehead. "You know how dramatic Vesper gets whenever you restrict her spending. She called me earlier crying about the card, and I already scolded her for disrespecting you. I told her I was celebrating closing a supply deal with Zane tonight here in New York, and she must have twisted my words just to upset you." His explanation was so smooth and reasonable that the tight knot in my chest loosened slightly. "Oh! It's... nothing!" I mumbled absent-mindedly, then asked, "When are you coming home?" "Soon... I'll be back once I wrap things up here. Do you miss me?" Jaxson smiled affectionately at me, full of love. "I'll try to come home as soon as possible. It's getting late. Go to bed early, okay? I still have things to attend to. Bye!" He blew a kiss to me and then hung up the call. I held my phone, stunned and annoyed at myself for being suspicious. Jaxson was an extraordinary, handsome, and doting husband, even though he was just a pauper when we first met. Although he was from an ordinary family with a sickly younger sister from the city, I chose him among my many admirers because of his looks. After graduation, I used my parents’ house as collateral to start a supply company with him and stayed by his side. Jaxson was responsible for sourcing while I tirelessly dealt with clients to the point I almost suffered from gastric bleeding. Fortunately, the company grew and began thriving. When I got pregnant, I decided to stop and entrusted the company to my husband while I focused on raising our child and managing our home. Nyx, our daughter, had turned four. We led a comfortable and well-off life as a family of three, which people were envious of. Jaxson felt so guilty that we didn’t have a wedding ceremony that he promised to provide for me and make up for any grievances I suffered. How could such a husband cheat?