Rachel cherishes the heirloom jewelry her late mother left her, until the day she finds the box empty. Thanks to her husband’s confession, Rachel realizes this is only half the truth. When she spots her mother’s earrings on another woman, all the pieces of the puzzle come together…
NOW
That morning, I went to the store to buy milk, chicken, and raspberries. It was a strange combination, but it was what I needed. The milk for coffee and cereal, the chicken for tonight’s dinner, and the raspberries for the white chocolate raspberry muffins my husband loves.
A woman standing in a grocery store aisle Source: Midjourney
I walked into the store expecting to do my shopping, but I left with a truth I didn’t know needed to be revealed.
She was standing in the dairy aisle, our neighbor. Young, blonde, and recently divorced. She was looking at the different yogurt options, smiling as if she didn’t care about anything. And to be honest, she probably didn’t.
And my mother’s earrings were hanging from her ears.
A woman looking into the distance in a grocery store | Source: Midjourney
My heart stopped. A sick feeling settled in my stomach. My hands clenched around the basket so tightly I was sure they were white.
No, no way.
I forced my voice to remain light and casual as I approached her.
“Mel, hi! Nice earrings!”
Close-up of a woman | Source: Midjourney
She beamed, touching them gently as if they were the most priceless things in the world. They were.
“Oh, thank you, Rachel! It’s a gift from someone special, you know.”
A gift. From someone special. Someone married?
The world tilted slightly. I swallowed the burning rage rising in my throat. Mel looked at me for a moment, and I wondered if guilt was eating away at her. She didn’t act like it, but something had dimmed her glow in that moment.
“Oh, they’re just gorgeous,” I said, smiling through gritted teeth. “But don’t they come with a pendant and a bracelet? What a gorgeous set that would be…”
A pair of earrings in a box | Source: Midjourney
She blinked, confusion showing on her face.
“I definitely would if I had those pieces. But I don’t. It’s just the earrings. But maybe someone special can give me the whole set.”
The ground stabilized beneath my feet.
That was it.
Derek hadn’t just pawned my mother’s jewelry. He’d given some of it to his mistress.
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
It was a selfish and well thought out plan.
Except there was one thing he hadn’t planned for.
Me.
A distraught woman | Source: Midjourney
Then I vacuumed under the bed.
I was vacuuming under the bed, lost in the monotony of cleaning and a nagging nursery rhyme playing in my head, when I spotted the box.
Something made me think. Maybe it was instinct. Or maybe grief had heightened my senses.
I bent down, picked it up, and opened the lid.
It was empty . The box containing my most precious possessions was empty.
A woman vacuuming | Source: Midjourney
The air left my lungs. The boring nursery rhyme flew out of my head. And just like that, the shock hit me right in the face.
My hands shook as I stood up, my knees weakened. I scanned my room as if the earrings, pendant, and bracelet would miraculously reappear before my eyes.
But that wasn’t the case. Of course they didn’t reappear. Wishful thinking doesn’t work like that.
There was only one person I’d ever shown the box and the priceless items it contained. But was Derek… Was he really capable of taking my things? Perhaps he’d set them aside, knowing how important they were.
Maybe he put them in our safe deposit box at the bank. But even if he had, why the hell wouldn’t he have told me?
An empty wooden box | Source: Midjourney
“Derek! I burst into the living room, where he was lounging with his laptop.
He barely looked up.
“What, Rachel? It’s too early for that noise.”
“My mother’s jewelry. Did you take it?”
His eyebrows furrowed as if he was really thinking.
A man using his laptop | Source: Midjourney
“No, maybe the kids took it. You know they like to dress up now.”
My stomach twisted again. Why would my children take something from my room? They probably didn’t even know the box existed. And I’d been planning on passing the jewelry on to the girls anyway.
But still, children have keen eyes. Maybe one of them saw something.
I turned around and walked straight to the playroom, where my three children were sprawled on the floor, lost in their toys.
A cozy playroom | Source: Midjourney
“Nora, Eli, Ava,” I said, almost breathless. “Did any of you take the box from under my bed?”
Three pairs of wide, innocent eyes blinked at me.
“No, Mom.”
But Nora hesitates. My eight-year-old daughter, my oldest baby. The most sensitive and honest of the three, and the one most likely to give you a hug when you needed one.
She told me what she knew.
A little girl | Source: Midjourney
“I saw Dad with it,” she said. “He said it was a secret. And that he’d buy me a new dollhouse if I didn’t say anything.”
A sharp rage shot through me.
Someone had stolen from me.
And that someone was my husband.
A dollhouse on a table | Source: Midjourney
I spent a long time with the children, trying to understand my thoughts and feelings while they played. Finally, I had no choice but to confront him.
“Derek, I know you took it. Where is it?” I asked him.
He let out a long sigh, rubbing his temples as if I was the problem.
“All right, Rachel. I took them.”
I blinked slowly.
A man sitting on a sofa | Source: Midjourney
“Why?” I asked simply.
His voice took on that tone I absolutely hated. That slow, condescending tone that always gave me goosebumps.
“You were so sad after your mother died. I thought a vacation would cheer you up, Rachel.” He picked up his can of beer and took a long drink. “So, I pawned them and bought us a trip.”
My fists clenched. My vision blurred. I was… beyond shocked.
“You pawned my mother’s jewelry?! My dead mother’s belongings!”
Inside a pawnshop | Source: Midjourney
“Rachel, we’re fighting! How can you not see it? Or are you choosing to ignore it? The mortgage, the bills… I wanted to do something nice for you and the kids.”
A white-hot rage filled me. I was ready to explode.
“Where. Are. They?” I spat. “You had no right to do that without asking my opinion, Derek! Give them back. Now!”
He let out a dramatic sigh.
An angry woman | Source: Midjourney
“Okay, I’ll give the tickets back. I’ll fix this if you want everyone to be as miserable as you are. Seriously, Rachel, the kids see it. It sucks.”
I turned away before I did something I would regret.
Miserable? Of course I was miserable. I was suffering. My heart felt broken and trampled, and my mind was a graveyard of memories.
My mother was dead. And with her, my best friend, my greatest support, and the person who loved me most in the world.
A distraught woman | Source: Midjourney
I’d only been without her for two months. And this man was creating a timeline of my grief?
What the hell? Who did I marry?
I missed her so much. That’s why Derek’s actions hurt me so deeply. My mother’s jewelry was like a lifeline she left me. It was something physical, something I could hold or put on when I needed her touch…
I remembered that she didn’t want me to become a stay-at-home mom.
A tombstone with flowers | Source: Midjourney
“Honey,” she said, buttering a slice of homemade bread. “You have so much potential. As rewarding as being a stay-at-home mom is, are you sure it’s for you?”
“I don’t know, Mom,” I confessed. “But Derek said we couldn’t afford a nanny, so it was either I became the nanny or I paid for one.”
“Promise me one thing, Rachel,” she said. “Keep writing your poems, darling. Keep that side of you alive.”
A woman writing in a notebook | Source: Midjourney
My heart aches thinking of her.
But you know what?
The next day, while shopping, I discovered the truth was even worse.
NOW
I smiled at Mel in the grocery store, pretending to listen to her rave about Greek yogurt and chia seeds for breakfast.
A bowl of yogurt and chia seeds | Source: Midjourney
“It really is the best breakfast, Rachel. It cleanses your gut and gives you more protein than eggs. Add honey or chocolate chips, girl. Trust me,” she spoke quickly, as if trying not to think or say anything that might give her away.
I smiled as if I wasn’t about to rip those earrings off her.
She had no idea. She had absolutely no idea that she had participated in my husband’s betrayal. Or did she? From her behavior, I didn’t think she knew its value. In her eyes, she was standing in front of her boyfriend’s wife and using the expensive gift he had given her .
So I made a decision.
A woman in a grocery store | Source: Midjourney
I was going to take back what was mine.
And I was going to make Derek pay.
The next morning, I played the role of the forgiving wife.
I was silent, reciting Shakespearean sonnets in my head. I made pancakes for the kids. I made French toast for Derek. But I couldn’t forget my meeting with Mel.
He was relieved, smug even. I’m sure he thought I’d slept on it and finally given up.
“It’s nice to see you so cheerful, Rach,” he said. “You know I love that smile.”
I wanted to slap him.
Pancakes and strawberries on a plate | Source: Midjourney
Focus on Shakespeare, Rach , I told myself.
“Derek, can I see the pawn shop receipt?” I asked, pretending I just wanted to make sure everything was redeemable.
He rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically, but eventually handed it to me.
“Nora,” I called, watching her eat her pancakes. “Do you want to come with Mom today? We’re going to get Grandma’s jewelry.”
A smiling little girl | Source: Midjourney
“Yes!” she said enthusiastically.
I wasn’t sure about taking my child to a pawn shop, but to be honest, this little girl was the only thing that would keep me calm.
We got dressed and met in front of the pawnshop.
“Shall we buy the jewelry, Mom?” asks Nora.
“Indeed, my little girl,” I replied.
The exterior of a pawnshop | Source: Midjourney
And just like that, I walked in and found my mother’s jewelry. It wasn’t difficult, but I had to convince the owner that it was mine.
“It would make a good birthday present for my wife,” he said. “But it looks like you’re going to cry your heart out.”
“It’s my mother’s, sir,” I replied. “Please.”
I think he was even more impressed to be called sir than he just gave it, without even trying to exploit me with the price.
A man in a pawn shop | Source: Midjourney
I kept the receipt. For later.
There was only one piece left.
The earrings.
The ones Derek’s mistress had shown off.
Earrings in a box | Source: Midjourney
I knocked on her door, and when she opened it, I held up my mother’s will, specifically reading that the jewelry belonged to me. I also had a photo of her wearing the set at her wedding.
Then I showed him the necklace and bracelet I had recovered.
“They’re part of a set,” I told him. “They’re family heirlooms, and I need the earrings back. They weren’t Derek’s to give away.”
His face paled and his jaw dropped.
A woman standing in a doorway | Source: Midjourney
“Rachel… I had no idea,” she stammers. “I thought it was a present from Derek. I didn’t know it was yours! I had no idea it was your… mother’s.”
She looked down, something changing in her expression. Disappointment. Then realization.
“I should have known,” she mumbled. “I thought he was nice and romantic… but,” she snapped, shaking her head.
Then, without another word, she ran into her house, returned with the earrings, and placed them in my outstretched hand.
Earrings in a woman’s hand | Source: Midjourney
“Here,” she said. “They don’t belong to me. And honestly, neither does Derek. But he doesn’t belong to you either. Rachel, if it were that easy for him to get together with me…”
I knew what she was saying. I understood it loud and clear.
“Hell holds no more fury…” I said. “I know. I’ll take care of him.”
“Rachel, I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. It’s just that Derek gave me the attention I needed. That divorce… it took a part of me away when it was over. I don’t know who I am without my husband. Ex-husband , I mean. Derek swept me off my feet and made me feel normal again. I’m so sorry.”
I looked at her and smiled. I knew what it felt like to have a part of me missing, but mine was due to death and grief, not deception.
“Thanks for telling me that, Mel,” I said, turning away.
A distraught woman | Source: Midjourney
Later
I waited until he was back at work and the paperwork was finalized.
Then I took the divorce papers to his office and handed them to him in front of his boss and coworkers.
“You shouldn’t have given away my things, Derek. I mean, really. You gave my mother’s earrings to your mistress?” My voice was louder than I expected. “You stole from me. You betrayed me. And this is your latest mistake in our marriage. This can’t be fixed. I don’t want you.”
A man sitting at his desk | Source: Midjourney
Then I turned on my heel and left.
He begged me, of course.
But I had had enough.
He had taken the last piece of my mother I had left. He had lied. He had ignored my pain. And he had betrayed our family.
And now? This man has nothing. Between alimony and child support, he had almost nothing left.
A woman walking down a corridor | Source: Midjourney
What would you have done?
If you liked this story, here’s another one for you |
When Dorothy reads her daughter’s innocent letter to Santa, she is surprised by a request for heart-shaped earrings that her husband apparently gave to their nanny. Suspicion turns to doubt, leading Dorothy to discover a heartbreaking truth tied to a long-kept secret….
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and all opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the opinions of the author or publisher.
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