The Lace Lingerie Mystery

It took a while, but eventually, I saw the indication that he was typing.

[Babe, don't worry. I'll handle it. We haven't done anything wrong.]

He took forever to come up with that flimsy reply, and I couldn't help but laugh. It was such a half-hearted response. I simply typed that I was tired, turned off my phone, and went to bed.

That night, I couldn't sleep.

Memories rushed in like an uninvited thief, barging into my mind when I wasn't paying attention.

I thought back to when I first met Milton.

It seemed like no one could escape the pressure of being pushed into marriage, even though I was only 25 at the time. My mom had thrown me straight into the matchmaking scene.

After meeting several bizarre candidates, my best friend, Kay Brown, mysteriously told me she knew a man who was smart, kind-hearted, and good-looking. She quickly set up a meeting for us.

I met the guy at a café. Just as Kay had described, he was tall, handsome, and well-spoken. We hit it off and exchanged contact details.

As I stood up to leave the café, a waiter brushed past me, and in the next second, I felt a piece of paper slip into my palm.

I looked at him as he walked away, his tall figure moving gracefully, and I saw him casually waving his right hand.

After saying goodbye to the guy I was on a blind date with, I opened the note.

[He's a playboy. Watch out. This is his usual hangout. If you want to thank me, you can come by for a drink tomorrow.]

The next day, I went—disguised.

To my surprise, the man who had been so interested in me the day before now had a woman sitting with him.

I couldn't help but feel absurd. I looked up and locked eyes with the waiter, who was smiling knowingly.

Life is strange. Sometimes you try hard, and things don't work out, while other times, things just fall into place.

That waiter turned out to be Milton. Our meeting was dramatic, but the way things unfolded after that was smooth and effortless.

Milton was romantic and attentive, a man who understood women better than most. He didn't bother with flowers or gifts, but he noticed the little things—like leaving something where I could easily reach it.

One day, after we had been dating for three years, he quietly took one of my coats, which had sleeves that were a bit too long, and had it altered. The next day when I wore it, the sleeves fit perfectly without me needing to roll them up. As a woman, I found that kind of thoughtfulness incredibly heartwarming.

Eventually, I agreed to his proposal.

Our wedding had been scheduled for six months later, but a sudden quarantine pushed it back, again and again. And now, it felt like the wedding would never happen.

What couldn't be done back then, didn't need to be done now.

After a sleepless night, I came to terms with it. I packed my things and caught the earliest flight home.

When I opened the door to my apartment, everything was surprisingly neat, almost too neat. It had been cleaned with an unsettling level of care.

Even Milton's shoes, which were usually left in disarray, were lined up perfectly, and the trash can was so spotless it almost sparkled.

I let out a short laugh.

Now I understood why Milton felt comfortable bringing someone home—there wasn't a single picture of the two of us together in the house.

It was strange. Our relationship was great, and we had taken plenty of photos when we went out, but Milton was never willing to display them.

"Sharon, in some of the cases we handle, criminals used photos to determine the people living in a house and hid somewhere to rob and hurt them. Don't take it the wrong way; I just can't put your safety at risk."

At the time, I was touched and praised him for being thoughtful.

Looking back, it was clear now—he had been setting up this situation for a long time.

It was a little past 10:00 AM when I passed by our downstairs neighbor's apartment and heard them grumbling loudly.

"Guess what he said? He claimed a thief left it behind. He might as well have said that Santa Clause dropped the panty at his house! I clearly heard them upstairs making those disgusting noises. How shameless can they get?"

"Did you go to his office, honey? Didn't you say you'd just mail it to him?"

"I couldn't let it go. Didn't you see how arrogant his wife was? But don't worry. I didn't let him off easily. I gave him a piece of my mind, and I'm pretty sure he won't dare do it again!"