A month after my breakup, I was finally starting to heal when I saw something that made my heart stop. My sister, Jessica, was handing a thick envelope of cash to my ex-fiancé, Richard—the man who had shattered my heart. My stomach twisted. Were they together? Was she betraying me? But the truth was worse than I could have ever imagined.
Richard and I had met a year ago at a charity event hosted by my family’s foundation. He wasn’t like the other men my parents had tried to set me up with—he was different. Genuine. He worked as a graphic designer, and he had this way of making me laugh until my sides hurt. Within a year, he proposed, and I said yes without hesitation.
“Are you sure about him, Amber?” my mother asked me one evening, her normally composed face filled with concern. “You barely know his background.”
“I know everything I need to know, Mom,” I assured her. “He’s the one.”
To my surprise, my father, Robert, who was usually the most skeptical, welcomed Richard into the family with open arms.
“He’s got character,” Dad said one night after dinner while Richard helped my mother clear the table. “That’s worth more than any trust fund or family name.”
Jessica, however, had been hesitant from the start. “Just be careful,” she had warned me in a low voice when Richard wasn’t around. “He’s charming… but looks can be deceiving.”
I had brushed off her concerns, thinking she was just being overprotective. At twenty-seven, I was getting married before my older sister. Maybe she was jealous.
“He makes me happy, Jess,” I had told her. “Can’t that be enough for you?”
Over time, even Jessica warmed up to him, and my family grew to adore Richard. He could do no wrong in their eyes.
Everything seemed perfect. Until one month before our wedding.
I was on my way to a hair appointment when I saw Richard’s car parked outside a small café. Through the window, I saw him leaning across the table, laughing and touching the hand of a woman I had never seen before. Then he kissed her.
My hands trembled as I parked across the street. My mind scrambled for explanations. Maybe it was a misunderstanding? But deep down, I knew the truth. I watched for twenty agonizing minutes as they whispered, touched, and kissed again before leaving together.
That night, when Richard came over, I couldn’t even look at him.
“You’ve been quiet all evening,” he said, brushing my hair back from my face. “Wedding jitters?”
I pulled away. “We need to talk.”
He laughed nervously. “That sounds ominous.”
“I don’t think we should get married.”
His face went pale. “What? Is this a joke?”
I twisted the engagement ring off my finger and placed it on the coffee table. “I can’t do this.”
“Amber, this is crazy! Whatever’s wrong, we can fix it!”
I shook my head. “I’ve made up my mind.”
His voice rose. “Is there someone else?”
The irony stung, but I swallowed it down. I knew if my father found out about Richard’s cheating, he would destroy him. I couldn’t bear that drama.
“No one else. We’re just… done.”
“I love you, Amber,” he pleaded, his eyes filling with tears. “Please don’t do this.”
“It’s over, Richard. Leave.”
And just like that, it was over. My family was shocked. My father tried to get answers. My mother cried. Jessica asked me a dozen times why I had changed my mind. But I never told anyone the real reason. I buried the truth deep inside me and moved on.
For a month, I avoided gatherings and buried myself in work. My father called daily, his concern growing.
“Richard came by the office yesterday,” he said on one call. “He looked terrible. Are you sure there’s nothing to salvage?”
“I’m sure, Dad. Please don’t bring him up again.”
Then, one Tuesday afternoon, everything changed.
I decided to treat myself to lunch at a small Italian place that Richard and I used to love. I had avoided it since the breakup, but I was ready to reclaim it for myself. As I waited for my table, I saw something that made my blood run cold.
Jessica and Richard were sitting in a corner booth, talking in hushed tones. Jessica reached into her purse and pulled out a thick leather envelope, stuffed with cash. She slid it across the table, and Richard took it with a nod.
Without thinking, I stormed inside. “What the hell is going on here?”
Jessica jumped, her face full of shock. “Amber! What are you—”
Richard grabbed the bag and stood abruptly, nearly knocking over his water glass. “I should go.”
I stepped in front of him. “You’re not going anywhere until someone explains what this is.”
Jessica’s eyes flashed with anger. “You don’t understand anything, Amber.”
“Then enlighten me!”
She crossed her arms. “We know why you left Richard. Dad and I have been helping him because you clearly don’t care about what he’s going through.”
“What are you talking about?”
“His cancer, Amber!” Jessica spat. “He has stage three lymphoma, and you dumped him because you couldn’t handle it.”
I felt like the floor was tilting beneath me. “Cancer? Richard doesn’t have cancer.”
“Of course he does! He told Dad everything. How he tried to tell you, but you panicked and left him. Dad’s been helping him with his treatments.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “That’s what he told you? Jess, I left him because I caught him cheating. I saw him with another woman.”
Jessica’s face crumpled. “That’s not possible… Dad’s given him fifty thousand dollars. And today was another twenty.”
I grabbed my phone. “We need to call Dad. Now.”
Dad answered on the first ring. “Sweetheart?”
“Richard’s lying, Dad. He doesn’t have cancer. He scammed you.”
Silence. Then, my father’s voice turned cold. “I’m calling the police. That money was withdrawn in cash. If we act quickly—”
Before we could reach my father’s office, he called back. “Richard just got into an accident. The police were already after him. Turns out we weren’t his only victims. He lost control of his car trying to outrun them on the highway.”
“Is he…?”
“Alive, but in custody. They found all the money. The police are returning it.”
Jessica covered her face. “I can’t believe we fell for it.”
I squeezed her hand. “It’s not your fault. He fooled all of us.”
“Not you,” she said. “You saw through him.”
I thought about all the dreams I had built around Richard, only to realize they were based on lies.
“Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t seen him that day,” I murmured. “We’d be married now.”
Jessica nodded. “You didn’t just dodge a bullet, Amber. You dodged a missile.”
As we pulled into my father’s office, I felt something new: relief. Richard had taken enough from me. But he hadn’t taken what mattered most.
My family.
“You know what?” I said, smiling for the first time in weeks. “Let’s go make some better memories.”
“Lead the way,” Jessica said, linking her arm through mine. “Some stories deserve better endings.”
