The morning was already a disaster when I realized I’d forgotten to leave Caleb’s lunch money. Guilt weighed on me, but when I called him, he said, “No problem, Mom. I’ll just get some from Dad’s cereal box stash.”

I froze. What stash?

After my shift at the bakery, I couldn’t shake the thought. Once home, I found an envelope under the Cheerios. Hundreds of dollars—more than enough to cover bills we’d been struggling with for months. Why hadn’t Marcus told me?

Dinner was tense. I casually mentioned the car needing repairs. Marcus, without missing a beat, said we couldn’t afford it.

Couldn’t afford it? I’d just seen the money.

The next day, I did something reckless: I booked a full spa day, using that hidden cash. When Marcus saw me, his face paled.

“You shouldn’t have spent that. It’s for emergencies,” he said.

“Marcus, we’re drowning, and you’ve been stashing money?” I snapped. He explained his job was at risk, and he wanted to prepare without worrying me.

But it wasn’t about the money. It was about trust. I thought we were in this together, but his secret felt like betrayal.

“We’re a team, Marcus,” I said. “Right?”

He promised no more secrets, but the damage was done. We had a long way to go to rebuild trust, but at least now, we’d face our struggles together.