Secrets Behind the Introduction

When I answered, he sounded panicked, almost desperate.

"Maddie, you sold your house?"

"Yeah, I did." I kept my voice calm.

"This is a big deal—why didn’t you talk to me first?"

He was furious, his voice full of reproach.

"You sold your house? Now we have nowhere to live, no rental income—after we get married, where are we supposed to go?"

He took a few deep breaths, then tried to calm himself. "Come on, don’t mess around. We’re about to get married. Just cancel the sale, okay?"

Honestly, I was so angry I laughed.

I’d thought maybe he was trying to get something out of me.

Or, to be generous, maybe he really thought houses weren’t appreciating and wanted to keep cash on hand.

But I never expected him to say such shameless things with a straight face.

I played dumb and replied using his own logic:

"What’s wrong? With cash in hand, we can just rent. Maybe our money will make more money."

He snapped, "Do you even know how to invest, though?"