For six months, I was away on business. Six months, while my fiancé, Ethan, moved into our new home all by himself. He’d even send me a token $50 each month, a little joke he called "rent for my wifey." It was all cute and games until his Instagram stories shifted from solo dinners to beautifully plated meals for two. A friend texted me, laughing, You better get back there before someone poaches him! I just laughed it off. But the comment stuck with me. So, I booked a flight, planning to surprise him for his birthday. But now, standing in front of our new apartment, the keypad code was stubbornly, repeatedly wrong. I was just about to call him when the door swung open. A young woman stood there, wearing an apron and holding a spatula. She frowned, looking me up and down, before a saccharine smile spread across her face. "Oh, honey, I think you have the wrong place. This is my home." 1 I froze for a second, my apology automatic. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I must be on the wrong floor." "No worries," she chirped, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Just be more careful next time, sweetie. You wouldn't want to walk into the wrong home again." She called me "sweetie" one more time before shutting the door in my face. I looked up. The plaque on the door clearly read 1015. This was it. The spacious downtown apartment Ethan and I had bought together. We hadn't even had a housewarming party before my work trip pulled me away for half a year. But I was the one who oversaw the entire renovation. I’d been here countless times. I knew I wasn't mistaken. I pulled out my phone and dialed Ethan, my voice sharp. "Ethan, did you change the code to the apartment? And why is there a woman living here?" His voice on the other end was choppy, full of static. Just then, the elevator dinged open, and there he was, juggling grocery bags. "Zoe, the signal's terrible here. I'll call you back later." He hung up without a second thought, then looked up and saw me. Our eyes locked. "There you are, Ethan!" The door to our apartment opened again, and the young woman bounced out, her voice a playful whine. "You were taking forever! I heard the elevator and came right out to get the door. See how much I care about you?" I hadn't eaten all day, rushing back here on an empty stomach. A bitter, acidic pain churned in my gut. "Ethan," I said, my voice dripping with ice, "you had better have a very good explanation." 2 "Oh my gosh, Zoe! I'm so sorry, I didn't recognize you earlier!" The woman, whose name I would learn was Amber, clasped her hands together in a theatrical plea for forgiveness. Ethan dumped the groceries in the kitchen and cleared his throat, his expression a mask of awkwardness. "Zoe, I didn't know you were coming back early, I forgot to tell you. This is Amber, she's an intern at my company. You know how it is, the internship is six months, and they're on a shoestring salary. She's from out of town, no place to stay. After paying for a room, she'd have no money left for food. I found her crashing at her desk a few times. I'm her supervisor, I felt sorry for her, so I decided to rent the spare room to her temporarily." Amber, who had started setting up a hot pot on the dining table, stuck her tongue out playfully. "It's true! Ethan's been a lifesaver. If it weren't for him, I'd be sleeping on the street. Please don't be mad at him, Zoe. Look, to repay his kindness, I was just about to celebrate his birthday for you! But I'm totally useless in the kitchen, and I couldn't let the birthday boy cook for himself, so I figured a hot pot would be a nice treat. You're back just in time! You can join us." Amber couldn't have been long out of college, radiating a bubbly, almost naive energy. But I heard the boast in her words loud and clear. She couldn't cook, which meant Ethan had been cooking for her. She was celebrating Ethan's birthday for me. Was she trying to audition for the role of my replacement? Ethan and I met in college. He pursued me for three years before I finally said yes. We'd done everything by the book: dating, the proposal, even setting the wedding date. Our parents had helped us buy this very apartment. And now, he was pulling this stunt? 3 "Oh, Zoe, we only have guest plates and chopsticks. You don't mind, do you?" Amber arranged a set of matching, 'his and hers' bowls for herself and Ethan, then shot me a bright smile before waltzing into the kitchen to help him wash vegetables. Their laughter and playful banter drifted out, painting a perfect picture of a happy young couple. And there I was, a stranger in my own home, perched awkwardly at the edge of my own dining table. The sight of the bubbling pot made my stomach churn. I had no appetite. "Ethan, you said you're renting to her," I said, my voice cutting through the cozy kitchen scene. "Where's the lease agreement?" Ethan’s brow furrowed in annoyance. "Zoe, it was just a formality to help her out. We didn't need to sign a contract." "Right," I scoffed. "And the rent?" "Amber transferred it to me. I can send it to you if you want. But honestly, she’s been looking after the place while you were gone. If anything, we should be paying her a maintenance fee." I almost laughed out loud at his audacity. Amber chimed in, twisting a strand of her hair. "So, should I start sending the rent to you now, Zoe? Ethan was so considerate, he knew I was broke, so he only charged me $50 a month. I haven't even paid this month's yet. Here, you can add me on Venmo, I'll send it to you right now." She held her phone out, her bright eyes fixed on mine, glittering with an unmistakable challenge. "$50?" I stood up, my gaze locking onto Ethan's suddenly evasive face. The anger I’d been suppressing boiled over. "This is a 1,800-square-foot luxury apartment in the heart of downtown, a few minutes' walk from your office. A place like this rents for at least five grand a month, and you're letting her stay for fifty bucks? Ethan, are you renting out a room, or are you renting her?" He flushed, a mix of shame and anger. "Zoe! It's my birthday! Did you come back to celebrate with me or to start a fight? There is nothing going on between Amber and me. She's my subordinate. What's wrong with helping her out? Why are you so jealous? A dirty mind sees dirt everywhere." 4 Being attacked like that was the last straw. "This isn't just any apartment, Ethan!" I shot back, my voice shaking with rage. "This is our marital home! We're not even married yet, and you're already renting it out. What, are you having second thoughts about the wedding?" His face went pale, and his tone softened. "No, of course not, Zoe. It's not a big deal. I'll ask Amber to move out before the wedding." Meow. A soft sound made me look down. A small tabby cat was rubbing against Amber's slender legs. She scooped it up, cooing, "Oh, my sweet baby." Then she turned to Ethan, her eyes welling up with tears. "Ethan… we found this little guy on the street together. He finally has a home. We're both so used to it here. After you get married… does that mean we'll be homeless again?" The two of them, the girl and the cat, looked like a portrait of pitiful abandonment. Ethan's jaw tightened. He looked at me, his voice strained. "Zoe, it feels cruel to just kick them out like this. Maybe… maybe we could postpone the wedding for a little while? Just until Amber finishes her internship and saves up enough to find a place nearby?" It felt like I’d been hit over the head. The man standing in front of me was a complete stranger. For an intern and a stray cat, he was willing to rent out our home for pennies. And now he wanted to postpone our wedding? It all clicked. Three months ago, I’d called him late one night, around 9 PM, just missing him after a long day at work. I could hear the sound of a running shower, and he told me he was in the middle of one. But over the water, I’d heard a distinct meow. I asked him when he got a cat. Back when we were together, I had wanted a dog, but he claimed he was allergic to pet dander, so I’d dropped it. He’d insisted I was hearing things and rushed off the phone. The pieces clicked into place with a sickening dread. The cat was already here three months ago. Which meant she was already here three months ago. He wasn't allergic to pet dander. He was just allergic to me getting a dog. A wave of nausea washed over me. The very sight of him made me sick. 5 "Ethan, you want to postpone our wedding… for an intern and a cat?" I pulled out my phone and opened my contacts. "Fine. You want to postpone? You can call my parents and your parents right now and explain why. If you have the guts to tell them the real reason, I'll do more than postpone. We can call the whole thing off." Ethan's face was a mess of conflict. He didn't dare take the phone. He'd spoken impulsively, moved by Amber's crocodile tears, but he knew he couldn't actually go through with it. Forget my parents; his own would skin him alive. "Oh, no… it's all my fault," Amber sobbed, seeing Ethan's resolve crumble. "It's me and the cat. We're causing all this trouble for you. We'll leave right now." She dramatically scooped up the cat and made for the door. "Wait, Amber!" Ethan rushed after her, grabbing her from behind. "You don't know anyone in this city! Where would you even go?" "But… but I don't want you to fight with Zoe because of me," she whimpered into his chest. "Amber, you're just too sweet, too considerate. That's why people take advantage of you," he said, stroking her hair. He then turned to me, his voice firm. "Zoe, let's both take a step back. What if we just rent another apartment nearby to use as our marital home?" I snatched my water glass off the table and hurled its contents at the two of them. "Ah! Zoe, you've gone too far!" Ethan shielded Amber from the water, glaring at me as if I were the one trying to tear them apart. "Are you insane, Ethan?" I screamed. "We bought this apartment! Who in their right mind buys a home and then goes and rents a different one to get married in? Did you leave your brain at the office? If you're so desperate to live with your little intern, then you can go rent her a damn apartment yourself! Stop freeloading in my house, you shameless piece of trash!" I guess he thought my claws had been permanently retracted. He was wrong. "What are you talking about, living together? We're not!" he stammered, still trying to deny it. Amber, her damsel-in-distress act vanishing, glared at me. "You know, Zoe, I shouldn't say this, but you and Ethan aren't actually married yet. His family bought him this apartment as a wedding gift. He has every right to do what he wants with it. If you keep acting like a shrew, you might just find yourself without a fiancé or a place to live." Her defiant words struck me like lightning. It all made sense now. A glance at Ethan’s guilty face made me laugh, a cold, sharp sound. "Wait a second. You seem to have one very important detail wrong. Who ever told you his family bought this place…"
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