Chapter 5 - THE MORNING AFTER
I woke the next morning in my hotel room at 6:14.
For several seconds, I forgot where I was.
Then I saw my formal dress draped over a chair.
My shoes were on the floor.
Emily’s wedding program sat beside the lamp.
And everything returned.
I reached for my phone.
Seventy-three notifications.
Most were from relatives.
A few were from friends.
Twelve were from David.
I read none of them.
There was one message from Emily.
You awake?
I answered.
Yes.
She called immediately.
“Mom?”
“I’m here.”
She sounded exhausted.
“Did you sleep?”
“Some.”
“Me too.”
I sat against the headboard.
“Where’s Nathan?”
“Showering.”
A pause.
Then she said the thing I had been afraid she would say.
“I’m sorry your marriage ended at my wedding.”
I closed my eyes.
“It did not end at your wedding.”
“It ended six months ago.”
“Maybe earlier.”
“But last night made it real.”
“For everyone.”
“Yes.”
She was quiet.
“Are you mad at me for making Dad leave?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“I’m angry that you had to.”
She started crying softly.
I waited.
Then she whispered.
“I thought you two were just going through a rough patch.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you were happy.”
“Mom.”
“You were planning a wedding.”
“You called me every day excited about something.”
“I did not want every conversation to become about my marriage.”
“You deserved one season of your life that was not about us.”
She took a breath.
“You always do that.”
“Do what?”
“Decide what everyone else deserves.”
“And then you take whatever is left.”
The words hurt because they were true.
Before I could answer, she continued.
“I don’t want you doing that anymore.”
There was a knock at my hotel door.
I told Emily to wait.
When I opened it, Rebecca stood in the hallway.
She held a large envelope.
Her face looked terrible.
“I need to talk to you.”
Emily heard her voice through the phone.
“Is that Aunt Rebecca?”
“Yes.”
“Put me on speaker.”
Rebecca and I exchanged a look.
I stepped aside.
She entered.
We sat near the window.
I placed the phone on the table.
Rebecca looked at it.
“Emily, I’m sorry about last night.”
Emily answered.
“Why do you have an envelope?”
Rebecca almost smiled.
“You really are your mother’s daughter.”
Then her expression changed.
“This arrived at my house four days ago.”
“From who?” I asked.
“A law firm.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
Rebecca handed me the envelope.
Inside were copies of documents.
The first was a draft petition for divorce.
David’s name appeared at the top.
Mine appeared below it.
The filing date was blank.
The second document was a financial disclosure.
I read the first page.
Then the second.
By the third page, my hands were shaking.
David had listed our primary residence.
Two investment accounts.
A retirement fund.
Several business interests.
And one property I had never seen before.
A condominium.
Purchased eighteen months earlier.
Solely in David’s name.
Emily spoke through the phone.
“What is it?”
I swallowed.
“He bought a condo.”
Rebecca nodded.
“There’s more.”
She pulled another sheet from the envelope.
It was a transfer record.
Thousands of dollars had moved from an account connected to our family investment portfolio.
Not once.
Repeatedly.
Small enough transfers to avoid attracting immediate attention.
I stared at the destination account.
Melissa Hart Consulting.
Emily whispered.
“Oh my God.”
May you like
Rebecca leaned back.
“I think the affair is the smallest secret your father has been keeping.”
