Chapter 3

More than feeling hurt or angry, I now wanted to know why Thompson would do this.

I had Mira contact her friend Chris at the sales office.

Chris was quite surprised and asked us back:

Wasn't the woman who went with Thompson to buy the house that day his soon-to-be-married girlfriend?

Mira sent him my photo.

Chris said that although his memory was fuzzy, it definitely wasn't the same person.

Given the importance of the matter, Chris video-called us.

"The borrower listed on the purchase contract is named Sheila. Is that you?"

"Yes, I'm Sheila. If my boyfriend handled it for me, could the home loan process be completed without me being present?"

There was silence on the other end for a while.

He coordinated with his colleague to send over the previous purchase documents.

After seeing the handwriting on them, he confirmed with me with a complicated expression:

"No, it's not possible. The person must be present to confirm and sign before the bank loan contract can be approved."

"But Thompson did come to view the property multiple times before, and when he finally signed the purchase contract, he was accompanied by a woman."

"My colleague said he personally watched that woman complete the signature."

"We all assumed she was Thompson's girlfriend who he was about to marry."

Mira reacted faster than I did.

She didn't dwell on the loan issue but asked another key question:

"Chris, do you know whose name is on the property deed for this house?"

Like before, Chris went through the documents again before confirming with me:

"Strictly speaking, this house hasn't gone through all the procedures yet and doesn't have a property deed."

"But the names submitted for property registration are Thompson and a woman named Blair."

Having learned this much, even though I didn't want to believe it, the facts were laid out before me.

Compared to my earlier disbelief, I'd actually calmed down now.

All these years I'd worked hard, lived frugally, desperately saved money.

Only to end up with a house under my name for the loan but shared with someone else.

Thompson had not only used our joint savings to secretly buy a house, but also used my name to pay the mortgage.

And in the end, this house belonged to him and another woman.

Nothing in the world could be more absurd and laughable than this.

No wonder Thompson had been traveling frequently for business since six months ago.

No wonder tonight he'd felt so guilty after just a few questions that he stormed out.

I was shaking with anger.

Mira hugged me, heartbroken, while continuing to help me ask what to do about this situation.

The person on the other end gave several suggestions and sent over important documents.

Chris sighed on the video call and advised me:

"Sheila, the solution with the smallest loss is to default on the purchase, losing part of the deposit and penalty fees."

"But this requires both Thompson and that Blair woman to come in together to process it."

Mira thanked Chris for me.

I didn't have the courage to open those documents, much less accept that Thompson had planned to hide this from me forever.

Along with the purchase transaction details, there was also a photo of Thompson and Blair together at the sales office.

The two sat side by side in the center of the luxurious sales office.

Blair held flowers, kissing Thompson.

The ring, necklace, and earrings she wore sparkled in the camera lens.

Mira's sharp eyes noticed that even her bag was quite expensive.

Thompson had given me a matching small wallet from this brand for my birthday before.

I'd been so happy to receive that wallet and felt bad for Thompson having another expense.

Now it seemed I'd just gotten a complimentary gift.

The two celebrated like newlyweds.

Thompson's smile in the photo hurt my eyes.

So all his indifference and impatience toward me appeared as such happiness and doting in front of another woman.

I'd been at home planning our future together.

To lighten his burden, I didn't eat out, only bought cheap discounted clothes.

I even felt bad about taking a cab home when I missed the subway due to working overtime.

But every penny I saved, Thompson handed over to someone else.

Mira wiped away my tears, comforting me that I had to pull myself together—no matter what, I had to get the money back.

I nodded mechanically, then smiled bitterly and told Mira about my pregnancy.

Mira was also stunned after hearing.

"When did this happen? Does Thompson know? What are you planning to do?"

Just as Mira thought I might not be able to let go because of the baby, I touched my belly and said firmly:

"Come with me to the hospital tomorrow. This baby and I... we're not meant to be."