I pause mid sip of my drink, glancing over at you on the other side of the kitchen counter where you’re flipping through the hospital bill statement that just came in the mail. I clear my throat and shrug before turning around to check the food on the stove. “Maybe they misprinted the amount last time,” I say, attempting to sound casual.

Not every wealthy CEO of a large law firm is good at lying to their girlfriend, I suppose.

We’ve been dating for about 8 months now, but it was around 3 months ago when I found out about your financial problems. You’d insisted that it was nothing detrimental, but I knew you were just barely getting by and living paycheck to paycheck. Your grandmothers hospital bills after a major hip problem arose certainly didn’t help.

I’d offered to help out, but you were adamant on not wanting any of my money. Even when the truth is that it wouldn’t hurt my pockets at all. So, I took it upon myself to…sneak around a bit.

By paying off over half of the bill.

It really wasn’t difficult. While you were in the shower one night, I took a photo of the payment portal information and got back in bed before you even noticed. I was hoping you wouldn’t realize for a couple more months.

But tonight I forgot to check the mail before you.