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In hindsight, what bride-to-be should have to do that?
God, the shame.
I’m so sick of feeling shame. The weight of it is so heavy to carry around.
The night of our engagement party, Steve returned from hiswork trip—aka being at home with his wife and family—and I asked him to take me out for dinner.
“Molly, for fucks sake, I’m tired.” Steve undid his tie and tossed it on the sofa. “Let’s eat in.”
Talk about freak out.
Everyone was at the restaurant waiting for us.
After thirty minutes of moaning, I finally got him out of the house and walking into the party.
Everyone called out surprise and the look on his face will forever be engrained in my memory.
Horror.
The blood literally drained from his face.
Mom, while holding up her glass of champagne as streamer filled the room, met my eye and I think that was the moment we both knew.
On some level.
Yet good old Steve went along with the whole thing. For three long hours we accepted congratulations and answered questions about where my ring was.
“I’m getting it made.” Steve smiled down at me time and time again.
Lies.
All lies.
Halfway through the night, Dad asked Steve why they couldn’t reach his sister Stephanie, and he told us she was in Norway.
Norway? WTF.
By the way, Stephanie doesn’t exist.
He made up his entire life.
Steve lives in Washington with his wife of five years. He travels to Philadelphia each week where he works in their office and apparently has fake relationships with innocent women.
Meaning me.
His company provides an apartment which I was told was his home. I just thought it needed a woman’s touch.
Nope. It was a furnished apartment.
Eventually the night ended, and Steve was so moody by the time we got home that he stomped off to the bathroom and left his phone unattended.
Something he never did.
I was upset by his behavior and had sat on the sofa waiting for him to finish his shower so I could ask him what was wrong when I saw his phone ringing.
Caroline Henry calling.
Henry? That was his surname. Without thinking I picked it up and swiped to answer.
