"I saved two million, and you're saying I can't even use $10,000 of it?" I inhaled deeply, striving to stay calm.
"Shouldn't you have discussed it with me first?"
Brian threw his fork into the meal I had prepared, turning our quiet dinner instantly into a battleground.
"Your secretary, Janet, keeps saying how busy you are, and you never answer my calls, right?"
I lost it, standing up and confronting Brian.
"I'm the marketing director at Malone Group, busy day in and day out. Janet gets it. Unlike you, who turns every little thing into an end-of-the-world scenario," he shot back.
"Enough diversions. Just tell me where the money went!" I steered us back to the core issue.
Suddenly sheepish, Brian then struck a pose, smirking confidently.
"I invested it in the stock market. You have no idea how booming the market is! It's like nothing we've seen since 2008!"
This wasn't his first stock market rodeo. With his salary, we could have easily saved enough within a year.
When the market was down, he'd always talk about "buying the dip," but it only sank further, plunging us into debt by one million, which took two years to clear. He had promised to quit trading then.
"You went back to stocks? Haven't you learned anything from your past mistakes? It's your trading that's kept us from saving! And now you gamble with our wedding funds?"
"You just don't see the big picture, Olivia! The greater the storm, the bigger the catch. That two million? It's now five million! I bought into Titan Corporation, and insider tips say it's only going up," Brian declared, sure he had the market in his grasp.
Hearing "Titan Corporation" made my head spin.
"This is madness. You need to pull out now. We're not getting any younger; it's time to think about our wedding. You've doubled your investment—let's cash out and live securely," I pleaded, holding back my anger.
Brian played with his utensils, sighing deeply as he met my gaze across the table.
"Settle for a secure life? You're just too shortsighted, Olivia. We're just not on the same wavelength anymore. It's over," he concluded.
"Shortsighted? I was there for you in your leanest times, Brian. I spent hours commuting to save up for a car for you, and now you think I'm not visionary enough?"
"I'll return that old car to you. As for the two million, I'll pay it back next week. I can't access it right now," he said dismissively.