The resentment festered. At night, she lay awake staring at the ceiling fan, her mind circling the same tormenting question: Why? Why would a man so rich, so outwardly successful, ration his wife’s life down to the cost of a fast-food meal? Her friends whispered theories. “He must have another woman,” one insisted. Another scoffed, “He’s hiding money offshore. He doesn’t trust you.” Rachel began to believe them. The shame of it burrowed into her bones, and for five long years she endured the humiliation in silence.

Every holiday became a battlefield. Christmas morning, she watched her children tear into expensive gifts Daniel had picked, while she stood by empty-handed, unable even to buy wrapping paper without asking for his charity. Her daughter once asked, “Mom, why don’t you ever get Daddy presents?” Rachel smiled through the sting in her throat. “Because Daddy already has everything,” she lied.