Celeste stepped back.
Aaron continued.
“I called the bank.”
Her face tightened.
“How much?”
She said nothing.
“How much have you spent from that trust on things unrelated to Nia?”
“It isn’t that simple.”
“It is a number.”
“Aaron—”
“How much?”
Celeste looked away.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I wasn’t keeping a ledger.”
“Exactly.”
She glared.
“I thought we were married.”
“We are.”
“Then why is there money in this house I’m not allowed to touch?”
Aaron stared at her.
“Because it isn’t mine either.”
“You’re the trustee.”
“For Nia.”
“You control it.”
“No.”
“I administer it.”
“That is different.”
“To lawyers.”
“To Danielle.”
Celeste rolled her eyes.
The movement was tiny.
Aaron saw it.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Say it.”
Celeste shook her head.
“No.”
“You have already brought her into this.”
“Say it.”
Celeste’s restraint broke.
“I am tired of living with a dead woman in this house.”
Silence.
The words remained between them.
Aaron did not move.
Celeste continued now that the barrier had broken.
“Her photograph is everywhere.”
“One.”
“Her trust.”
“Her traditions.”
“Her recipes.”
“Nia talking about what Mom used to do.”
“You comparing things to how Danielle handled them.”
Aaron stared.
“I do not compare you to Danielle.”
“You don’t have to say it.”
Celeste’s eyes filled.
“I walked into a marriage where I was always going to come second to someone who can never make a mistake again.”
Aaron’s anger did not disappear.
Something else appeared beside it.
Understanding.
Not agreement.
But understanding.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Every time I said we needed boundaries around the trust.”
“You said you thought Nia should not know how much money was there.”
“Because she walks around with a future my children do not have.”
Aaron’s expression hardened.
“So you decided to take it from her?”
“No.”
“I used some of it.”
“For what?”
“Family expenses.”
“Name them.”
Celeste’s silence answered.
Aaron continued.
“Jordan’s basketball camp?”
She looked away.
“Layla’s dance competition?”
No answer.
“The Disney trip?”
“That was a family trip.”
“Did Nia’s trust pay for it?”
“Partly.”
Aaron felt sick.
“How much?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You remember.”
“I don’t.”
“You know enough to know you hid it.”
“I did not hide anything.”
“You used the secondary card because statements came to the trust portal you knew I reviewed quarterly.”
“You knew I was busy.”
“You knew I was skimming totals.”
Celeste’s eyes widened.