He Offered Me To His Wife

The building’s WhatsApp group chat was usually a boring feed of package-delivery complaints and noise warnings. But that night, a message popped up that made me stop scrolling.

It was from Derrick, the guy who lived directly across the hall from me on the eighth floor. He tagged the entire building.

“Looking for someone to keep my wife company. Duties include chatting and cooking dinner every night. I’ll pay $3,000 a month cash, plus a brand-new bottle of Hermès Terre d’Hermès cologne.”

The chat went dead silent. No emojis, no thumbs-up. Just absolute, stunned silence.