My Fiancé Gave My Home to His Secretary and Her Dog

1: 1

The wedding was close, so I brought my parents, who'd traveled all this way, to see the new house.

But no matter what I did, the smart entry system wouldn't let us in.

I called my boyfriend, Cedric Harding. He sounded distracted.

Oh, I've been swamped at work lately. Lucille's the one keeping an eye on the renovations.

"To make it easier for her to come and go, I deleted your face for now."

That made me angry.

"The system can store five faces. Why delete mine?"

"You don't come around much anyway."

"My mom, my dad, Lucille and me, plus her dog. That's exactly five."

Cedric had said earlier that his father had cancer, so he'd taken back the eighty-thousand engagement dowry and the deposit on the house.

My parents couldn't stand to see me in a bind, so they'd paid for the house outright, in my name.

Now here I was, my parents beside me, shut out of my own home by the smart entry system.

But his little secretary and her dog could walk right in.

I stared at the display, its mechanical voice repeating the same three words over and over: "Stranger."

And I thought: this door called marriage isn't one I absolutely have to walk through.

My parents had been traveling all day, and it showed in their faces.

Seeing how dark my expression had gone, my mother gave me a gentle tug and murmured for me to let it go.

"Maybe the machine's broken. Why don't we come back another day."

My father said nothing. He just quietly shifted the local specialties to his other hand.

Cured bacon and dried mushrooms he'd carried all the way from home, because he wanted his son-in-law to taste where we came from.

Just as we were about to leave, Cedric's secretary, Lucille Fox, came walking up with a poodle on a leash.

She lifted the dog and held it up to the camera.

The machine spoke in a sweet female voice.

"Family member, Sweetie, welcome home!"

Lucille looked down her nose at me.

"Ella Pruitt, I'm very busy. Next time you want to come see the place, kindly book an appointment first."

With that she strolled inside, leaving us in the entryway, where a row of pink slippers had been lined up.

My parents were bending to change into them when she wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"Those slippers are all mine, and I'm kind of a germaphobe. Maybe you two should just come in barefoot."

Anger surged up in me. My mother tugged at my sleeve.

"Ella, honey, she's only doing things for Cedric. Don't make it hard for her."

I swallowed the fire in my chest and watched my parents leave their shoes at the door, wipe the soles of their feet again and again with their socks, and step carefully inside.

Inside, the whole place screamed cheap, over-the-top influencer style, nothing like the clean, simple look I'd settled on.

The bedroom that was supposed to be my parents' had a sign hanging on the door: "Pet Paradise."

The room was strewn with dog toys. It had become a kennel.

Lucille folded her arms, every inch the lady of the house.

"Cedric felt bad that I had nowhere to go when I work late, so he set aside a room just for me and Sweetie."

"This place is in a prime spot, worth its weight in gold. Not somewhere just any stray cat or dog can live."

My parents curled their toes uneasily and sat stiff on the couch.

The height of summer, hot and airless, and both of their shirts were soaked through with sweat.

I took a deep breath and looked up at the air conditioner.

"Alexa, turn on the AC, please."

But the smart unit didn't respond at all.

I was about to call customer service when Lucille came over with the dog.

She patted its head, and the dog tipped its face up and barked twice at the air conditioner, and just like that, it switched on.

"A couple of days ago, Cedric made me the administrator of the home's smart system."

"Sweetie can't stand heat, so I had no choice but to delete your voiceprint and swap in hers."

As she spoke, she opened the fridge, took out two bottles of mineral water, and poured a single glass for my parents.

The rest, most of both bottles, she emptied into the dog's bowl beside her.

"Sweetie only drinks this brand of mineral water. It's quite expensive."

"I'm guessing you two have never had water this pricey. Go on, try it, see how sweet it is."

My parents held the glass, frozen in place, unable to move forward or back.

"Ella, I've still got things to do. If there's nothing else, maybe you should head back now."

The dog barked at me twice too.

Lucille smiled and stroked its head. "Good girl, Sweetie. No need to bother with people you don't know."

I clenched my fists, my heart aching until it went numb.

"Ella, honey, let's just go."

My mother pulled me out by the arm. I didn't dare lift my head, afraid the tears would fall.

The moment the elevator doors closed, I saw Lucille bend down and mop, thoroughly, over the exact spot where my parents had been standing.

As if we were something dirty.

"It's fine if we take a little grief. As long as you and Cedric build a good life together, that's all that matters."

My mother pressed a bank card into my hand. "Take this. Use it for his father's treatment."

The sting in my nose swelled hard. I forced out a thin smile and got my parents settled.

After a long inner struggle, I sent the agent a message.

"Can you appraise the current market price of this place for me? I want to sell."

2: 2

When I got home, Cedric still wasn't back.

Lucille had just posted a grid of photos on her feed.

"Feeling down, so my boss brought me out to the river for a drive. The fireworks are his heart."

I killed the screen and sat staring at the couple's photo on the nightstand.

Cedric and I had been together seven years, all the way from college, and this year we were finally supposed to get married.

Then his father was diagnosed with cancer, and Cedric took back the bride price. It was only eighty thousand to begin with, and he clawed every bit of it back.

He even took back the deposit on the house.

When my parents heard, they didn't say a word.

The next day, they set their savings passbook down in front of me.

It was the money they'd saved their whole lives, the money meant to see them through old age.

"We're old, sweetheart. We can't do much for you. All we can give you is a stable home."

The five-star hotel wedding shrank down to a cheap little restaurant.

I pinched every penny. I couldn't even bring myself to order a latte.

And he turned around and blew over a hundred thousand on fireworks for his little secretary.

There was a wet wad of cotton lodged in my chest, and it wouldn't go up or down.

Somewhere in the dead of night, half-asleep, I heard the door get kicked open, and the light snapped on, blinding.

Cedric hauled me up out of bed without a thought.

"Lucille was kind enough to keep an eye on the renovation for us. What gives you the right to question her?"

He didn't ask where my parents were staying. He didn't care that I'd been sound asleep.

His whole heart and eyes were on how wronged poor Lucille felt.

I pinched the space between my brows.

"Keeping an eye on the renovation? You mean turning my clean, simple design into some influencer showroom?"

"Keeping an eye on it? You mean crowding me out of my own home, making my guest room her bedroom, and turning my parents' room into a dog kennel?"

"My entry access, my whole smart-home system, all handed over to her. Since when do I have to book an appointment just to walk into my own house?"

Cedric stiffened his neck, self-righteous.

"The style Lucille redid is gorgeous. Your taste is just stiff and outdated."

"Besides, your parents hardly ever come. Lucille lives far away, it's a hassle for her to go home when she works late. What's wrong with keeping a room for her?"

"They're all small things. Can you stop being so petty about every little thing?"

"Lucille cried the whole night because of you. Find a moment sometime and apologize to her properly."

My chest was clogged tight, my throat squeezed like a hand around it.

He looked at my red-rimmed eyes and softened his tone.

"All right, stop acting like you've suffered some great injustice."

"These are gifts for your parents. If you're free tomorrow, let's all have dinner together."

Inside the gift box was a string of pearls and a very ordinary tie.

I thought of my parents' eager faces, and I swallowed everything down without a word.

The next day, when they saw Cedric's gifts, a faint smile broke across their faces.

"Cedric's thoughtful. He's so busy with work, and he still remembers us."

Mom fastened the pearl necklace around her neck.

Dad carefully lifted the suit he'd meant to save for the wedding out of the suitcase and knotted the tie with great ceremony.

"Ella, we didn't embarrass you, did we?"

"No, no. You two are the best people in the world."

Once they were ready, I took my parents, both of them full of excitement, to the private room Cedric had picked.

I pushed the door open, only to find Lucille and her dog planted brazenly in the seats of honor.

"The little cutie made herself at home the second we got here and wouldn't budge. You don't mind, right?"

Cedric stroked the dog's head, doting, and didn't even look up.

"Ella isn't the small-minded type. She's not going to fight a dumb animal over a seat."

The light in my parents' eyes dimmed, but they held their smiles.

"It's fine, it's fine. Family sits anywhere, it's all the same."

Lucille's gaze dropped to my parents' necks, and she covered her mouth, laughing.

"Sir, ma'am, honestly, that necklace and tie really do suit you two."

"We took the little cutie shopping for clothes yesterday, and the clerk threw in these two accessories. My baby has no use for them."

"Didn't expect them to look so fitting on you."

The smiles froze on my parents' faces.

Mom's hand jerked back from the necklace as if she'd been burned.

My dad just sat there, the hand at his side curling into a fist.

I looked at the gray at their temples, and I couldn't take it anymore.

"Cedric, what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

3: 3

Lucille's eyes went red.

"Mr. Harding, I didn't mean anything by it. Why is Ella upset again?"

Cedric's face soured.

"Ella, can you stop being so up and down all the time?"

"Lucille was just complimenting your parents. Do you have to be this touchy?"

The bitterness and fury churning in me were almost more than I could hold down.

"Cedric, you gave my parents the freebies that came with the dog's clothes."

"You sat the dog and your secretary at the head of the table. You think we're not good enough for it?"

Cedric lifted his hand and checked his watch, frowning.

"I never said that. Can you stop blowing everything out of proportion?"

"I dropped everything at work to come out here. Not to watch you throw a fit."

Something knotted in my chest and I couldn't speak.

Mom stood up, took my hand, her voice pleading.

"Ella, don't say any more."

"Your dad and I are fine, really, we're fine."

She turned and gave Cedric a smile.

"Cedric, thank you for making time to have dinner with your uncle and me."

"Ella's been spoiled by us. Don't be angry with her."

Then she looked at Lucille. "Young lady, thank you for the gift. We love it."

She reached up, took off the necklace, and slipped it into her bag.

Then she sat down, lifted the teacup in front of her, her hand trembling and would not stop.

Tea spilled over the rim, onto the brand-new dress she'd worn.

My dad kept his head down and said nothing.

I fought with everything I had to hold back the tears.

The waiter brought the food. Every dish was seafood and raw sashimi.

One of my parents is allergic to seafood, the other has gout.

When they didn't pick up their chopsticks, Lucille's eyes welled up as if she'd been wronged.

"Why are your parents so fussy? I went out of my way to book the best restaurant in Chicago. They're so hard to please."

Cedric didn't make a sound. He just bent over Lucille's plate, peeling shrimp for her.

When I stepped out to the restroom, Cedric followed me out, his tone ugly.

"Ella, what's going on with you and your parents? Are you deliberately trying to embarrass Lucille?"

"She pulled a lot of strings to book this place. Can't you show a little sense?"

"A whole family ganging up on one young girl. Have you no shame?"

I glared at him.

"Cedric, who exactly is ganging up on whom?"

"My parents can't eat seafood. How many times have I told you that?"

He simply didn't care.

A flicker of guilt crossed Cedric's eyes.

"All right, Lucille didn't do it on purpose."

"Take your parents out for another meal later. Just order whatever they like."

By the time dinner ended, it was pouring outside.

Lucille climbed into the passenger seat like she'd done it a hundred times.

Her dog jumped into the back.

"Ella, sorry about this. My dog has an anxiety thing. He doesn't like strangers near him."

"Why don't you catch a ride?"

Cedric saw nothing wrong with any of it.

"Lucille just got her nails done today. If they get wet, it costs a few thousand to redo them."

"Ella, it's easy to get an Uber."

Then he hit the gas, and the water his tires kicked up sprayed straight into us.

The dress and suit my parents had bought specially were streaked with filth, the two of them a wretched mess.

The rain came down harder. We stood at the restaurant entrance for forty minutes and couldn't get a single ride.

Mom's carefully styled hair collapsed into a wet clump, plastered to her face.

She crouched down and used her sleeve to wipe the mud off my dad's trouser legs.

"It's fine, it's fine, it'll wipe clean."

Somehow the pearl necklace had broken, and the beads scattered across the ground.

Mom knelt in the rain, picking them up one by one.

Tears blurred my eyes, and I stepped forward and pulled her to her feet.

"Leave them. We don't want them."

"And this marriage, I'm not going through with it either."

The real estate agent called.

"Ms. Pruitt, you mentioned wanting to sell the place. I happen to have a buyer, in a hurry to buy, and the price is one you'd accept. Are you sure you want to sell?"

I looked back at my parents' aged faces.

They had emptied every last bit of their savings to buy me that home.

They had ridden a train for more than thirty hours, hearts full, wanting to witness their daughter's happiness.

They had worn their finest clothes, and been made a joke of.

I gripped the phone and gave a firm nod.

"I'm sure."

4: 4

When I got home, Cedric wasn't back yet.

My phone suddenly buzzed like mad. A notification from the security app.

That camera had been left behind by the previous owner, running on its own, completely separate from the smart-home system.

On the feed, Lucille Fox came out of the bathroom wearing my pajamas.

She looped her arms around Cedric's neck.

"Mr. Harding, do you really feel nothing for me at all?"

Cedric stood there rigid, the hand at his side clenched into a tight fist, like he was holding something back.

"Mr. Harding, my only regret is bad timing. I met you too late."

"In three days you'll have your wedding, and there will never be anything between us."

"I just wanted to ask, could you grant me one last wish, and be my first man?"

"That way I'd never forget you for the rest of my life."

Lucille talked and talked until she was sobbing.

Cedric carefully wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Then he stood up and rushed to the door, about to leave.

"Lucille, Ella and I have seven years together. I promised I wouldn't betray her."

"You, you'll meet someone better later on."

Lucille wrapped her arms around him from behind, crying.

"There won't be. There'll never be anyone better than you."

"Back when my dad had cancer, you didn't say a word, you took back the bride price and the deposit on the house and gave it all to me. Can you honestly say I'm not in your heart?"

I froze where I stood, my nails nearly gouging through my palms.

So it wasn't his father who'd had cancer. It was Lucille's.

And I was the fool who'd been worrying he didn't have enough money.

"If you won't agree, I'll jump off this balcony tonight."

She ran to the balcony, teetering on the edge in the storm.

Cedric panicked.

He rushed over and pulled her into his arms.

Then he lowered his head and kissed her hard on the mouth.

The two of them kissed frantically, tearing at each other's clothes, and fell together onto my wedding bed.

I grabbed my phone and called like a woman gone mad.

Again and again.

On the feed, Cedric glanced at his phone, then held down the power button with no expression at all.

Listening to the cold shutdown tone in my ear, my heart died completely too.

That bed was one we'd picked out together.

The sheets on it were ones I'd chosen so carefully.

In the wedding photo on the wall, I was laughing so happily, like an idiot.

Watching Cedric lose himself on that screen,

I crouched on the floor as my stomach heaved.

I rushed to the toilet and threw up until the world spun.

But nothing came out.

Only tears, falling one by one into the toilet.

Disgusting. So disgusting.

For the next three days, they stayed in my wedding house and never went out.

Going at it day and night.

The camera faithfully recorded everything.

During that time, Cedric sent me one message.

"I'm away on a business trip these few days. Keep an eye on the wedding arrangements."

"The wedding in three days, I'll be there on time."

"Ella, I love you."

I don't know what he was feeling when he sent that I love you.

Guilt trying to make up for it, or the thrill of pulling one over on me.

I didn't care anymore.

Those three days, I wasn't idle either.

I handed all the property documents to the agent and signed the contract face to face with the buyer.

"All the smart-home devices in the house, I'll throw in for free."

"I only have one request."

The buyer was a media reporter, and she talked straight.

"I'm getting such a good deal here, whatever you want, I'll agree to it."

I leaned in close to her ear and murmured.

She said through her teeth, "Ella, don't you worry. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's cheating men and their mistresses."

"I'll get it done for you, clean and neat."

Day four, my wedding day.

I put on the wedding dress I'd prepared long ago.

The woman in the mirror was beautiful, her makeup flawless, her eyes hollow.

My mother pushed the door open, a bowl of dumplings in her hands.

"Ella, eat something."

I looked at the dumplings in the bowl, each one plump and round, made by my mother through the night.

"Mom, aren't you angry with me?"

She paused, then smiled.

"Angry about what? Angry that you've finally learned to care about yourself?"

She reached out and smoothed the loose hair at my forehead.

"Ella, the thing I regret most in this life is teaching you to be the good girl. The good ones are always the ones who lose out."

The tears came all at once.

I found the wedding host.

"Change the order of things today. Once everyone's here, play the video first, then hold the ceremony."

When all of that was done, I walked out of the hotel and got into a taxi.

Mom and Dad sat quietly in the back seat in their clean clothes.

"Airport, please."

The car pulled away, and I watched the balloon arch with "Cedric & Ella, Happy Wedding" shrink and vanish in the rearview mirror.

Cedric, I hope you'll like the gift I've left you.