Private Lessons

The music was too loud at Bella Hayes' s staff gala.

My girlfriend, Bella, was across the room, laughing, owning the whole chain.

I was her sous-chef, our love a secret.

Then Julian Vance, Bella' s childhood friend who always looked like he sniffed something bad, cornered me.

He accused me, loudly, of stealing his vintage designer watch.

He ripped open my bag, scattering my mother' s medical bills across the polished floor for everyone to see.

"Motive," he sneered.

Bella, the woman I loved, walked over, her eyes cold.

She told me to "let it go," publicly hinting my "moment of desperation" explained it all.

She thought I was guilty.

Her words hit harder than any punch.

This public betrayal later led to my sick mother collapsing, in desperate need of expensive, specialized treatment.