Page 31 of Earned Husband

For the first twenty or so years of my life, my brother had been a pretty rational, measured human being. We’d grown up surrounded by wealth and opulence, but Khaled had never let it get to his head. He’d lived frugally, at least by our family’s standards, and he’d given more than he’d spent.

All that had changed when he’d met Ashanti. While neither of them were wasteful, he liked her to have absolutely anything she wanted and she truly enjoyed spending his money. She swiped that black card to her heart’s content, using it so much that I eventually started worrying that it was going to melt.

By noon, I was carrying so many designer shopping bags that I could easily qualify as a pack mule, and while I usually enjoyed a bit of shopping, this was pretty extreme—and entirely Ashanti’s fault.

Since she’d refused to take no for an answer, I’d spent a fair amount of my brother’s money right along with her, sporting a fresh mani-pedi, a blowout, and at least three bags hanging from each arm. To be fair though, as soon as I’d realized that resistance was futile, I’d happily let myself be pampered on my brother’s dime.

“You’re spoiled,” I said as we left yet another designer store. “I’ve never met anyone who can shop the way you do.”

She smirked. “I’m not spoiled. I’m adored. Besides, we deserve this.”

“Do we?” I asked, trying my best not to laugh. “What exactly do you think we’ve done to earn it?”

“Well,youmight not have done much, but I have.” She winked. “There’s this thing Khaled likes?—”

“Nope,” I said immediately, grimacing as I cut her off. “I do not need to know and I don’t want to.”

She let out a dramatic sigh as we weaved our way between passersby on the sidewalk, the sheer amount of bags she was carrying sometimes even making it difficult to find a way around people without stepping into the street. It was still a beautiful day though, despite both of us perhaps having overindulged a bit.

The sky above was impossibly blue and sunshine reflected in the glass windows of all the ridiculous boutiques around us. I let out a content sigh, feeling a little guilty about what we’d put my brother’s card through, but not so much that I was about to let it steal my joy.

“I think this might officially be my happy place.”

She turned to smile at me, peering into my eyes over the frames of her giant new sunglasses. “See? We needed this. Both of us.”

“Yeah, but I hope you’re happy,” I said. “Khaled is going to kill us when he gets his next credit card statement and we haven’t even eaten yet.”

“Let me worry about him,” she said cheerfully. “And stop complaining about food. We’re on our way to lunch. You’ll survive for a few more minutes.”

“I might actually not,” I replied. “You made me skip breakfast.”

“It would’ve taken too long. My mom can’t handle the kids alone for a whole day, so we had to make hay while the sun shines. You know how it goes.”

“Do I?”

She laughed. “Well, you’re learning, anyway.”

Ashanti suddenly stopped walking, looked up, then started skirting toward one of the towering skyscrapers lining the block. Without explanation, she headed straight for the doors of the tall building.

“Where are we going now?” I asked. “Please tell me there’s not another designer store hidden up there somewhere.”

“Nope, there’s nothing up there for us but a restaurant,” She pulled off her sunglasses after a doorman had let us in, but strangely, she seemed a little nervous all of a sudden. “God, this is fancier than I thought. I’ve never actually been in here before.”

I looked around as we crossed the marble floors of the lobby, taking in the chandeliers, the tasteful furniture, and even the gorgeous arrays of flower arrangements sitting in vases all over. “Yeah, it’s a pretty strange place for lunch.”

“It’s not,” she objected, pressing the button for the elevator when we reached it. “This is home to one of the most exclusive clubs in Chicago, I’ll have you know. Only people like your dad and Alex Westwood even have access to it.”

“What about Colin Thayer?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Her dark eyes glittered with amusement just as the low ding of the elevator arriving rang out. “He might be a member on account of being a Thayer and all, but they might’ve had their memberships revoked in the wake of the scandal. I honestly don’t know.”

I nodded slowly, climbing into the elevator as it dawned on me how much further the consequences of their father’s actions had probably stretched. Back home, we held memberships to alot of exclusive clubs, and while they were all fine, I preferred street food.

Yet, to have those memberships revoked…

It wouldn’t even matter that I rarely visited those places. It would still feel terrible to know I’d been shut out.

As the elevator ascended, I found myself wondering what other ramifications there had been.Just how heavy is the weight they’re still carrying?