All I wanted was a recipe. Eli’s tablet was on the counter, and I figured I’d scroll while the pasta boiled. But a message pinged: “You need more money?” From my father.
The truth unraveled fast. My dad had been funding Eli behind my back. Worse—Eli let him. The ring, our life, all padded with borrowed pride. But then Eli handed me a small box—something he’d bought himself, with the first real profit from his business. A ruby ring, simple and his.
“I lied because I wanted to give you something of mine,” he said. “And I’m paying your father back. Tomorrow.” He did. Hand-delivered the envelope, calm and steady. My father didn’t even open it, but it didn’t matter—Eli had already reclaimed our dignity.
That night, we picked paint colors for a room we could finally call ours. No strings. No debt. Just sage walls, homemade pasta, and the quiet joy of starting again—together, for real.
