Rachel treasures the heirloom jewelry her late mother left her, until one day she finds the box empty. With a confession from her husband, Rachel realizes that’s only half the truth. When she spots her mother’s earrings on another woman, all the puzzle pieces connect…
Now
I went to the store that morning for milk, chicken, and raspberries. An odd combination, but it was what I needed. The milk for coffee and cereal, the chicken for tonight’s dinner, and the raspberries for the raspberry and white chocolate muffins my husband loved.
A woman standing in the aisle of a grocery | Source: Midjourney
I went into the store hoping to get my groceries, but I left with a truth that I didn’t know needed to be revealed.
She was standing in the dairy aisle, our neighbor. Young, blonde, and recently divorced. She was looking at the various yogurt options, smiling like she didn’t have a care in the world. And if I’m being honest, she probably didn’t have any cares.
And hanging from her ears were my mother’s earrings.
A woman looking away at a grocery | Source: Midjourney
My breath caught in my throat. A sick feeling curled in my stomach. My hands clenched around the shopping basket so tightly that I was sure they were white.
No. No bloody way.
I forced my voice to stay light and breezy as I approached her.
“Mel, hi! Lovely earrings!”
A close up of a woman | Source: Midjourney
She beamed, touching them delicately as if they were the most priceless things in the world. They were.
“Oh, thank you, Rachel! They’re a gift from someone special, you know.”
A gift. From someone special. Someone married?
The world tilted slightly. I swallowed the burning rage rising in my throat. Mel looked at me for a moment, and I wondered if the guilt was eating at her. She didn’t act like it, but something had dimmed her shine in that moment.
“Oh, they’re simply beautiful,” I said, smiling through my gritted teeth. “But didn’t it come with a pendant and a bracelet? What a stunning set that would be…”
A pair of earrings in a box | Source: Midjourney
She blinked at me, confusion all over her face.
“I definitely would if I had those pieces. But I don’t. It’s just the earrings. But maybe my special someone can gift me the whole set.”
The ground steadied beneath me.
There it was.
Derek hadn’t just pawned my mother’s jewelry. He had gifted part of it to his mistress.
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
It was a selfish, well-thought-out plan.
Except he hadn’t planned on one thing.
Me.
An upset woman | Source: Midjourney
Then
I had been vacuuming under the bed, lost in the monotony of housework and a nagging nursery rhyme that was stuck in my head, when I spotted the box.
Something made me pause. Maybe it was instinct. Or maybe grief had sharpened my senses.
I bent down, picked it up, and opened the lid.
Empty. The box with my most prized possessions was empty.
A woman vacuuming | Source: Midjourney
The air left my lungs. The annoying nursery rhyme flew out of my head. And just like that, the shock hit me across my face.
My hands trembled as I stood up, my knees weak. I scanned my bedroom like the earrings, pendant, and bracelet might miraculously reappear before my eyes.
But they didn’t. Of course, they didn’t. Wishful thinking didn’t work like that.
There was only one person who I had shown the box and the priceless things inside. But would Derek… Was he actually capable of taking my things? Maybe he had put them away, knowing the importance that they held.
Maybe he had put them into our safe deposit box at the bank. But even if he did, why on earth wouldn’t he tell me?
An empty wooden box | Source: Midjourney
“Derek!” I stormed into the living room, where he was lounging with his laptop.
He barely glanced up.
“What, Rachel? It’s too early for this noise.”
“My mother’s jewelry. Did you take it?”
His brow furrowed like he was truly thinking.
A man using his laptop | Source: Midjourney
“No, maybe the kids took it. You know they’re into dressing up now.”
My stomach twisted again. Why would my children take something from my room? They probably didn’t even know about the box. And I was planning on passing down the jewelry to the girls anyway.
But still, kids have keen eyes. Maybe one of them saw something.
I turned and marched straight to the playroom, where my three kids were sprawled on the floor, lost in their toys.
A cozy playroom | Source: Midjourney
“Nora, Eli, Ava,” I said, almost breathless. “Did any of you take the box from under my bed?”
Three pairs of wide, innocent eyes blinked up at me.
“No, Mommy.”
But Nora hesitated. My eight-year-old, my oldest baby. The most sensitive and honest of the three, and the one most likely to give you a snuggle when you needed it.
She would tell me what she knew.
A little girl | Source: Midjourney
“I saw Daddy with it,” she said. “He said it was a secret. And that he would buy me a new dollhouse if I didn’t say anything.”
A sharp rage sliced through me.
Someone had stolen from me.
And that someone was my husband.
A dollhouse on a table | Source: Midjourney
I spent a long time with the kids, trying to figure out my thoughts and feelings while they played. Eventually, I had no choice but to confront him.
“Derek, I know you took it. Where is it?” I asked.
He let out a long sigh, rubbing his temples like I was the problem here.
“Fine, Rachel. I took them.”
I blinked slowly.
A man sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
“Why?” I asked simply.
His voice took on that tone of his that I absolutely hated. The slow, condescending tone that had always made my skin crawl.
“You were so sad after your mom died. I thought that a vacation would cheer you up, Rachel.” He picked up his beer can and took a long gulp. “So, I pawned them and bought us a trip.”
My fists curled. My vision blurred. I was… beyond shocked.
“You pawned my mother’s jewelry?! My dead mother’s things!”
The interior of a pawn shop | Source: Midjourney
“Rachel, we’re struggling! How can you not see it? Or do you choose to ignore it? The mortgage, the bills… I wanted to do something nice for you and the kids.”
White-hot rage filled me. I was ready to burst.
“Where. Are. They?” I spat out. “You had no right to do that without asking me, Derek! Return them. Now!”
He sighed dramatically.
An angry woman | Source: Midjourney
“Okay, I’ll return the tickets. I’ll fix it if you want everyone to be as miserable as you are. Seriously, Rachel, the kids see it. It sucks.”
I turned away before I did something I’d regret.
Miserable? Of course, I was miserable. I was in pain. I was hurting. My heart felt shattered and stamped upon, and my mind was a cemetery of memories.
My mother had died. And with that, my best friend, my biggest supporter, and the person who had loved me most in this world.
An upset woman | Source: Midjourney
It had only been two months without her. And this man was putting a timeline to my grief?
What the hell? Who had I married?
I missed her so much. Which was why Derek’s actions had hurt me so deeply. My mother’s jewelry was like a lifeline she had left behind for me. It was something physical, something that I could hold or put on when I needed her touch…
I remembered how she didn’t want me to become a stay-at-home mom.
A tombstone with flowers | Source: Midjourney
“Darling,” she had said, buttering a slice of homemade bread. “You have so much potential. As rewarding as being a stay-at-home mom is, are you sure it’s for you?”
“I don’t know, Mom,” I confessed. “But Derek said that we can’t afford a nanny, so it was either I become the nanny or I pay for one.”
“Promise me one thing, Rachel,” she said. “Keep writing your poetry, darling. Keep that side of you alive.”
A woman writing in a notebook | Source: Midjourney
My heart ached thinking about her.
But do you know what?
The next day, while shopping, I found out that the truth was even worse.
Now
I smiled at Mel in the grocery store, pretending to listen to her rave about Greek yogurt and chia seeds for breakfast.
A bowl of yoghurt and chia seeds | Source: Midjourney
“It really is the best breakfast, Rachel. It cleans out the gut and gives you more protein than eggs. Add some honey or chocolate chips, girl. Trust me,” she spoke fast, as if trying not to think or say anything that would give her away.
I smiled like I wasn’t seconds away from ripping those earrings off her ears.
She had no idea. She had absolutely no clue she had been part of my husband’s betrayal. Or did she? From the way she acted, I didn’t think she knew the value of it. In her eyes, she was standing in front of her boyfriend’s wife and using the expensive gift he had bought her.
So, I made a decision.
A woman in a grocery store | Source: Midjourney
I was going to take back what was mine.
And I was going to make Derek pay.
Big time.
The next morning, I played the part of the forgiving wife.
I was quiet, reciting Shakespearean sonnets in my head. I made pancakes for the kids. I made French toast for Derek. But I couldn’t get my encounter with Mel out of my head.
He was relieved, smug even. I’m sure he thought that I had slept on it and had finally let it go.
“It’s good to see you so chipper, Rach,” he said. “You know I love that smile.”
I wanted to slap him.
Pancakes and strawberries on a plate | Source: Midjourney
Focus on Shakespeare, Rach, I thought to myself.
“Derek, can I see the pawnshop receipt?” I asked, pretending that I just wanted to make sure everything could be bought back.
He rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically but eventually handed it over.
“Nora,” I called, watching her pick at her pancakes. “Do you want to come with Mommy today? We’re going to look for Grandma’s jewelry.”
A smiling little girl | Source: Midjourney
“Yes!” she said excitedly.
I wasn’t sure about taking my child to a pawnshop, but if I’m being honest, that little girl was the only thing that would keep me calm.
We got ourselves dressed and found ourselves standing outside the pawnshop.
“We’re buying the jewelry, Mom?” Nora asked.
“Indeed we are, baby girl,” I said.
The exterior of a pawn shop | Source: Midjourney
And just like that, I went in and tracked down my mother’s jewelry. It wasn’t difficult, but I had to convince the owner that it was mine.
“It would make a good anniversary present for my wife,” he said. “But you look like you’re going to cry your little heart out.”
“It’s my mom’s, sir,” I said. “Please.”
I think he was more floored by being called sir that he just gave it over, not even trying to exploit me with the price.
A man in a pawn shop | Source: Midjourney
I kept the receipt. For later.
There was only one piece left.
The earrings.
The ones that Derek’s mistress had been flaunting.
Earrings in a box | Source: Midjourney
I knocked on her door, and when she opened it, I held up my mother’s will, specifically reading out that the jewelry was mine. I also had a picture of her wearing the set at her wedding.
Then, I showed her the necklace and bracelet I had reclaimed.
“These are part of a set,” I said. “They’re family heirlooms, and I need the earrings back. They were not Derek’s to give.”
Her face paled, and her jaw dropped.
A woman standing in a doorway | Source: Midjourney
“Rachel… I had no idea,” she stammered. “I thought it was a gift from Derek. I didn’t know that it was yours! I had no idea that it was your… mother’s.”
She looked down, something shifting in her expression. Disappointment. Then realization.
“I should have known,” she muttered. “I thought he was being sweet and romantic… but,” she trailed off, shaking her head.
Then, without another word, she ran into her house, returned with the earrings, and placed them in my outstretched hand.
Earrings in a woman’s hand | Source: Midjourney
“Here,” she said. “These don’t belong to me. And honestly, neither does Derek. But he doesn’t belong to you either. Rachel, if it was this easy for him to get with me…”
I knew what she was saying. I understood it loud and clear.
“Hell hath no fury…” I said. “I know. I’ll deal with him.”
“Rachel, I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. It was just that Derek gave me the attention that I craved. This divorce… it took a part of me when it ended. I don’t know who I am without my husband. Ex-husband, I mean. Derek swept me off my feet and made me feel normal again. I’m so sorry.”
I looked at her and smiled. I knew what it felt like to have a part of me missing, but mine was due to death and grief, not cheating.
“Thank you for saying that, Mel,” I said, turning away.
An upset woman | Source: Midjourney
Later
I waited until he was back at work and the paperwork was finalized.
And then I took the divorce papers to his office and handed them to him in front of his boss and coworkers.
“You shouldn’t have given away my things, Derek. I mean, really. You gave my mother’s earrings to your mistress?” My voice was louder than I expected. “You stole from me. You betrayed me. And that’s your final mistake in our marriage. This cannot be fixed. I don’t want you.”
A man sitting at his desk | Source: Midjourney
Then, I turned and walked away.
He begged, of course.
But I was done.
He had taken the last piece of my mother I had left. He had lied. He had brushed off my pain. And he had betrayed our family.
And now? That man has nothing. Between alimony and child support, he had little to nothing left to his name.
A woman walking down a hallway | Source: Midjourney
What would you have done?
When Dorothy reads her daughter’s innocent letter to Santa, she’s blindsided by a request for the same heart-shaped earrings her husband apparently gave their nanny. Suspicion spirals into doubt, leading Dorothy to uncover a heartbreaking truth tied to a long-kept secret…
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Woman Ignores Letters from Man She Left 53 Years Ago, Visits Him Once and Finds a Ruined House — Story of the Day
A woman turns down her ex-lover’s invitation to meet him 53 years after they broke up, but when she comes across some of his old letters, she reconsiders her decision and visits him – only to find his house in shambles.
76-year-old Bessie Walsh had always been a joyful, vibrant woman, but after losing her better half Edward to cancer three years ago, she was reduced to a forlorn and dejected soul.
Bessie and Edward had been happily married for 45 years, had two lovely daughters, and had a beautiful home in a wonderful neighborhood. But when Edward left her for his heavenly abode, the cheerful woman was left heartbroken and alone.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
Bessie’s daughters, Stephanie and Cassandra, were both married and settled abroad, so the only company she had in her later years were her children’s photo albums and memories when they were young. As a result, she rummaged through her storeroom every evening to find all the old albums and sat for hours looking through them.
One evening, she was looking for one of their family albums when she found a stack of envelopes buried in a corner beneath an old crate. She dusted them off to have a better look at them when one of the envelopes fell to the floor, revealing a letter.
She brought everything into the living room and put on her glasses to read them, but as soon as she opened the first letter, her heart began to race.
“Hi Bessie,
This is Troy. I’m so sorry, Bess. Look, I understand you’re upset with me, but please give me a chance to explain myself. What you saw was not true, trust me. I have only loved you, and I won’t look at anyone the same way. Meet me today at the Red Rose Cafe at 5:00 p.m. I’m in your hometown. I’ll explain everything. I promise.
With love, Troy.”
No one could have predicted that the happy, constantly smiling Bessie would have a sad side too, but she did…
When she was 23, she was madly in love with Troy Evans, a young and attractive man. They’d met at university and fallen in love, and Troy had even proposed to her. Bessie had said yes without hesitation, and their wedding had already been planned. But then something happened one evening a week before the wedding that changed everything…
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
Bessie was out with her friends at a restaurant when she noticed Troy. She initially assumed she had misidentified the man as Troy, but she knew it was him when she looked at him again. She was about to approach him and give him a back hug when a gorgeous brunette ran up to him and kissed him on the cheek. Then they held each other’s hands and walked away to a table together.
Bessie was shocked, to say the least. “Really, Troy? You’re cheating on me!” She sobbed her way out of the restaurant that day, swearing never to see him again. However, she left him a farewell letter, stating she was moving back to her hometown and that everything between them was over.
Troy wrote numerous letters to her after receiving her final letter, begging her to give him a chance to explain himself, but she didn’t bother to read any of them. Later, she married Edward after falling in love with him. She’d even forgotten she had Troy’s letters with her until a postman showed up on her doorstep one day. “You’ve got a letter, ma’am. Pretty fancy! No one does it these days!”
Bessie wondered who would send her a letter as her parents had died a long time ago, and her husband was an orphan with no living relatives. She had opened the letter out of curiosity, only to discover that it was written by Troy.
“Dear Bessie,
It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? It took me a long time to find you, but I did. I didn’t come to meet you because I don’t want to cause problems in your marriage. But I just want to see you once, Bess. You haven’t responded to any of my letters in all these years, but please give me one chance to explain myself. I’m living in Chicago, and you’ll find my address inside the envelope. Please, Bess, meet me once. I’m hoping you won’t decline my request this time.
With love,
Troy Evans. “
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
It happened about a year after Edward’s death, and Bessie was still in grief, so she threw that letter and the others he’d sent later in the storeroom, never planning to read them. However, as she read one of his letters again this evening, she felt something – presumably a longing to be with someone or be loved – and moved on to the next one.
“Dear Bessie,
This is the last letter I’ll be writing you. I wrote to you so many times, and I really wanted to meet you, but I guess it won’t happen. So I’m writing this letter to explain why I kept telling you I didn’t cheat on you.
One of my friends had requested me to act as his sister’s boyfriend that day so that the boys who were stalking her wouldn’t bother her. Bess, it was all a joke. I wanted to tell you about it earlier, but you were at your grandparents’ house at the time, and when you got back, everything was messed up.
I’ve only loved you with all of my heart, and I’ve never even considered anyone else. I’m still single, and I’m hoping you’ll forgive me and come back to me. But if not, then I guess this is goodbye.
With love,
Troy Evans.”
Bessie’s eyes welled up as she finished reading. Troy had never been unfaithful to her. In truth, he had wanted to tell her everything, but she was too angry to think rationally. She couldn’t help but feel bad for the man who had honestly loved her his entire life. She rummaged through the letters in a frenzy to find the envelope with his address and decided to pay him a visit.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
However, when she arrived there, all she found was an old, decaying house with broken roofing and worn-out paint. She began inquiring with the neighbors about him, but nobody knew anything. Dejected, she had almost left the neighborhood when her gaze was drawn to a 95-year-old frail woman.
She’d been looking intently at her from the moment she’d arrived there. She felt there was something she knew and wanted to tell her, so she decided to approach her. “Excuse me, do you know anything about Troy Evans?” she gently asked.
The older woman didn’t utter a word and handed her a note. “Go to this address; he’ll be there. He left this place two years ago and never returned,” it said. Bessie realized the woman was mute, which is why she didn’t say anything.
“Thank you!” she whispered to the woman before heading to the address. An hour later, her search for Troy brought her to The Oliver Nursing Home, where she quickly spotted him. He was sitting immobile on a wheelchair in the outer yard, almost like a statue. His previously vibrant, sparkling eyes had a strange dead expression, and his face was dotted with wrinkles.
Bessie’s eyes welled up as she approached him. “Hi, Troy. How are you? It’s me, Bessie!”
The man slowly turned his wheelchair to face her, but he didn’t utter a word.
Bessie smiled at him, teary-eyed, and held his hand in hers. “I’m finally here, Troy. I’m sorry I ignored you all these years. Please forgive me,” she whispered gently.
Suddenly a voice interrupted her. “There’s no point in trying, ma’am. I’m afraid he won’t recognize you.”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Shutterstock
Bessie turned around and saw a woman in her late 50s standing there. She was Debbie, Troy’s caretaker at the nursing home. She informed her that Troy had suffered from memory loss due to the stroke and was unable to speak.
Bessie’s heart sank when she heard that. Now that she finally met Troy after all these years, he was in such a condition that he didn’t even recognize her! But she decided she won’t give up so soon.
She began visiting him often and told him their stories – how they’d met, showed him the letters too – in the hopes that he would recall something. It didn’t help much initially, but once, when she went to meet him, he cried terribly after reading one of the letters. He kept sobbing, and it was the first time he finally recognized Bessie and called her name! Even the nurses were stunned. It was indeed a miracle!
Bessie brought Troy home that day, and they are now living happily together. She is grateful she decided to go through those letters that evening.
What can we learn from this story?
- Don’t jump to conclusions. Bessie thought Troy had cheated on him without giving him a chance to clarify himself.
- What’s meant to be will be. Troy and Bessie were fated to end up together, and that’s what happened in the end.
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