When Angela’s husband, David, surprises her with a beautiful bracelet for their wedding anniversary, the last thing she expects is for it to lead to a police investigation. Maybe it’s a good thing that David is a lawyer?My husband, David, is a lawyer, so courtroom drama is something that I’m more than familiar with. Most nights, we sit with a glass of wine and talk about the cases that he’s on — always giving me the shortened, mainly anonymous versions. But the last thing I expected was for me to end up as one of his stories. David and I live in the city’s bustling heart—making it easy to get to our clients. As I said, David is a lawyer, and I am a custom wedding dress designer. So, we’re not in a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. But believe me,
secrets have a funny way of revealing themselves. This year was our tenth wedding anniversary, and David was adamant about making it special. He ordered food from our favorite restaurant and got me ten bouquets of flowers, each one to symbolize our ten years of marriage. During dinner, he surprised me with a jewelry box — inside was a stunning bracelet. My heart was simply overflowing with love and gratitude for David. It was the fact that despite his busy schedule, he had gone out of his way to make everything so memorable. “Happy anniversary, Ang,” he said, putting the bracelet on my wrist. But we were blissfully unaware of the storm brewing.The next day, after David had set off for work, I decided to catch up with my college friend, Lauren. We were going to stuff our faces with cake and pastries from our favorite café and then window shop. Lauren was graduating with her master’s in microbiology, and we were determined to find her an outfit. “If all else fails, Ang,” she said. “You can always custom-make me a dress.” Naturally, I was already working on a dress for her. When we got to the café, we sat eating slices of cake and spoke about everything and nothing. When I showed Lauren the bracelet on my wrist, she cooed at how much she loved it. After that, we strolled through fancy boutiques — I was in my element because I loved to look through clothing for inspiration, and being with Lauren was always the highlight of any day. But when we entered the third store, things quickly turned from innocent browsing to a nightmare. The store’s overzealous seller mistook my bracelet for a stolen one and hit the panic button. The next thing I knew was that I was being accused of theft — my new bracelet was removed and left on the glass counter for the police to investigate when they came in. The seller, Mika, as her nametag displayed, went through my handbag, pocketing my lipstick in the process. “So, you thought you could get away with it?” Mika said, popping her chewing gum. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. “This is a gift from my husband. I only got it last night.” “You’re saying that your husband is the thief, then?” “Phone David,” I told Lauren, who immediately pulled her phone out of her bag. While we waited for the police and David to arrive, the store’s security officers kept a strict hold on me, not even allowing me to stand up from the chair they had forced me into. Eventually, David appeared, looking haphazard in his tailored suit. But there he was, ready to defend my honor. “What’s going on here? Angela, are you okay?” “David, they think I stole this bracelet!” Lauren and I told David everything. And when the police arrived, they put me in their squad car’s back. The seats were sticky, and the car smelt of stale cigarettes and old meat. Lauren and David followed close behind. At the station, the detective told us that my anniversary present bore an uncanny resemblance to one stolen from a local museum two weeks prior. All pawn shops and stores had been briefed about the incident and told to report anything that looked like the priceless bracelet. “Detective,” David said calmly. “This is a misunderstanding. The stolen bracelet is a different design. This one is specific to my wife. You’ll find our wedding date engraved on the back of the clasp. Look closely. I have the receipt. The store will verify it all if needed.” I watched David in awe. He was so unbelievably calm in this situation, and I could sense that anger was bubbling beneath his skin. David may take a lot of flack from his clients and witnesses, but Lord forbid anyone to try to disrespect me. It was something that I had always loved about David. After a few hours of sitting in the police station, waiting for the detective to return from the jewelry store with David and confirming everything he had said, we could go home. When we got in, I knew Lauren had been home because fresh flowers were on the table, and a hot pot of fresh pasta was on the stove. “I can’t believe that happened,” I said. “Thank you for being there.” “Always, Ang. We’ll get through anything together.” I showered, washing off the smell of the station, while David plated dinner. I felt fine, but I couldn’t believe what had happened — mainly because I was completely innocent. I stood there, letting the hot water run down my back, imagining David having to defend innocent people every day. “Shall I return the bracelet?” he asked, grinning when I sat down for dinner. “Maybe switch it up for a pair of earrings?” “Not a chance,” I said. If anything, the bracelet meant more now than it did before. If this happened to you, how would you have reacted? Here’s another story for you: “What little secret are you hiding under your shirt? Take it off, let me see!” a racist police officer forces a woman of color to undress herself when she’s framed for theft at a store. Little did he guess the ill-fated consequences of his inappropriate behavior would cost him his career…
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