The Earrings My Husband Swore He’d Never Seen

Later that day, my husband and I waited for Nisha by the elevator. We confronted her, and I calmly said, “I know my husband made a stupid mistake. But you’re wearing stolen property. This can get messy.” Nisha froze and whispered, “I didn’t know they were stolen. He said he bought them.” She finally agreed to “look” for them. An hour later, she came to our door and handed me the earrings, saying, “Please don’t get the police involved.”

I was relieved to have them back, but something about the situation still bothered me. Why did she give them back so easily? Where did the velvet box go? The answer came three days later.

I saw Nisha crying in the lobby. Tariq had vanished in the middle of the night, taking all her valuables with him. She confessed that she had suspected the earrings weren’t really his to give, but she had kept them anyway because she liked them.

This whole mess was a tough lesson for everyone involved. My husband learned that “trust is fragile” and that he should never “lend” family heirlooms again. He apologized profusely to me and to his mother, who eventually forgave him. I learned that when people “show you a tiny crack in their character,” you shouldn’t ignore it.

As for Tariq, he got his comeuppance. He was arrested a month later for a string of small-time scams in a nearby city. It seems that karma does a good job of evening the score.

This whole experience was a painful reminder that “people will either protect what’s yours or they’ll help someone else take it.” It’s up to you to be careful about who you put your trust in.