I only turned on the lights.”
Natalie picked up her bag and walked outside.
Leo followed her to the doorway but stopped before crossing it.
She turned toward him.
“Are you coming home?”
“No.”
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Leo—”
“I need one night in which nothing you say to me is another lie.”
She looked as though he had struck her, though he had not raised his voice.
Then she walked toward the car alone.
Andrew remained inside.
He looked older without the grin.
Smaller too.
“I made a mistake,” he said.
“A mistake is taking the wrong exit.”
“It got out of control.”
“You scheduled it.”
“I was unhappy.”
“So was I.
I did not build a second life inside someone else’s marriage.”
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“What do you want from me?”
“The truth would have been useful six months ago.”
“I’m telling you now.”
“No.
You are admitting only what is already printed in front of you.”
His eyes moved toward the open door.
The champagne bottle remained on the counter behind him.
Condensation had formed beneath it, leaving a dark ring on the stone.
“I can end it with her,” he said.
Natalie was still visible through the window, standing beside the car.
She heard him.
Her expression changed.
Andrew followed my gaze and realized too late.
Natalie opened the passenger door, pulled out the bottle of wine she had brought, and smashed it into the gravel.
The glass broke with a sharp crack.
Then she climbed behind the wheel and drove away.
Andrew watched her taillights disappear.
“You should go,” I said.
He lifted his duffel.
At the threshold, he turned back.
“You’ll regret humiliating me like this.”
I looked at the photographs, the statements, and the deed.
“No,” I said.
“I regret how long I protected you from consequences.”
He left.
I closed the door and changed the lock code from my phone.
The tiny confirmation tone sounded louder than it should have.
Leo stood near the fireplace, staring at the stonework.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“For what?”
“For designing this place.”
“You designed a beautiful house.
They chose what to do inside it.”
