“This is different,” he said.
“How?”
“You shut me out after the baby.”
My restraint nearly broke then.
Not because the accusation was new, but because he had chosen the exact wound he helped create and used it as permission.
After the miscarriage, I had spent months waking at three in the morning with my hands pressed against an abdomen that had already healed.
Andrew attended two therapy sessions, declared that talking made him feel worse, and began staying late at work.
I bought the villa because he said we needed a place where we could start again.
I chose the lake because he loved the water.
I chose the fireplace because he said winters made him depressed.
I chose the deck because he promised we would drink coffee there when we were old.
Now he was using my grief as an alibi for his betrayal.
“I did not shut you out,” I said.
“I survived differently than you wanted me to.
You decided that made me disposable.”
He opened his mouth.
I raised one hand.
“No.
You have said enough.”
Then I reached the final section of the folder.
Credit card statements.
Restaurant bills.
Hotels.
Flowers.
Jewelry.
Car services.
Wine deliveries to the villa.
Some charges came from Andrew’s personal card.
Others came from our joint account.
I had highlighted every dollar of shared money spent on the affair.
The total was $38,614.72.
Natalie stared at the figure.
“You told me you paid for everything yourself.”
Andrew’s face reddened.
“I earn money too.”
“Not enough to cover this,” I said.
“Especially after the debt your parents paid in 2018.”
His expression sharpened.
“That is private.”
“So was our marriage.”
Leo picked up one of the statements.
“This hotel charge was on the night she told me her father was sick.”
Natalie stood.
“My father was sick.”
“You visited him for forty minutes.
Then you checked into a hotel with Andrew.”
“I was overwhelmed.”
“You were photographed drinking champagne in the lobby.”
She turned toward the door.
Leo did not block her.
Neither did I.
She reached for her bag, but Andrew grabbed her wrist.
“Don’t leave me here to deal with this alone.”
Leo’s body tensed.
“Take your hand off her,” he said.
Andrew released her immediately.
