“What if her parents hadn’t interfered?” he said quietly. “What if we’d been allowed to stay together?”
Allowed.
As if I was the result of circumstance, not choice.
Amanda inhaled sharply.
“Daniel, that was over ten years ago.”
“I know,” he said. “But it doesn’t feel over.”
The words settled into me slowly, like something cold being poured down my spine.
“I love Genesis,” he added quickly, like an afterthought. “Just not the way I loved her.”
Silence followed.
Heavy. Charged.
Amanda didn’t argue. She didn’t defend me.
And somehow, that hurt almost as much as his confession.
They moved to the living room after that. The sound became muffled and fragmented, just enough to tell me the conversation continued, but not enough to let me hear every word.
I didn’t need every word.
I had already heard everything that mattered.
Amanda left around eleven.
I waited until I heard her car pull away before I shut my laptop.
Daniel came into the bedroom smelling like wine and familiarity. He smiled when he saw me.
“Hey,” he said softly. “You still up?”
I nodded.
“Lost track of time.”
He crawled into bed and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close. He kissed my shoulder. He kissed my neck.
He was more affectionate than usual.
I stared at the ceiling, numb.
Guilt looks a lot like love when you don’t know what you’re looking at.
The next morning, I made a phone call.
“Genesis Parker,” I said when the line connected, “I need to ask you something hypothetically.”
Tom Bradley’s voice came through the receiver, dry and knowing.
“Nothing is hypothetical when you start a sentence like that.”
I swallowed.
“I need to understand divorce procedures.”
There was a pause. A shift.
“Okay,” Tom said carefully. “What’s going on?”
“My husband isn’t cheating,” I said. “But he’s emotionally gone. Still in love with his ex-girlfriend.”
“Do you have proof?”
“I overheard him admit it to a friend.”
Tom sighed.
“That can be complicated. Overheard conversations can be tricky, especially if it looks like you were trying to catch him.”
“What if he admits it to me directly?”
“That’s stronger,” Tom said. “But Genesis, are you sure this is where you want to go? Have you thought about counseling?”
“I can’t fix a marriage with someone who wishes they had chosen someone else.”
Tom was quiet for a moment.
“Then fair enough. If you want this to stay civil, I suggest encouraging honesty. If he admits he wants out, the process can be straightforward. If he lies, it gets messy.”
I exhaled slowly.
“He’s been lying for years.”