“How much?”
“Fifty-two.”
He stared.
“Fifty-two thousand dollars.”
“It was an investment.”
“Do you have executed documents?”
“Yes.”
“Rebecca says your lawyer hasn’t produced them.”
Vivian looked irritated.
“Because they’re being organized.”
“Was the investment made to Grant Development?”
Silence.
“To the project entity?”
Silence.
“Mason personally?”
Vivian whispered:
“It’s a convertible note.”
“To whom?”
She looked toward him.
Ethan understood.
“Mason personally.”
“He was going to transfer it.”
“Was.”
“He still will.”
“Tessa says he told her it’s complicated.”
Vivian stood.
“You and Tessa have apparently become close.”
“No.”
“We became two people trying to learn how much our spouses lied.”
Vivian flinched.
“That’s dramatic.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You left your husband after investing fifty-two thousand dollars with your married boyfriend.”
“You told me you needed to explore men to save our marriage.”
“And I’m dramatic?”
She said nothing.
Ethan nodded toward the folder.
“There’s an accounting request.”
“Your attorney can send it to mine.”
“She did.”
“Then why put it here?”
“Because you came home believing nothing changed.”
Vivian’s eyes filled.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The punishment.”
“This isn’t punishment.”
“You moved my things.”
“You removed photographs.”
“You filed immediately.”
“You froze me out.”
“I did not freeze joint assets.”
“I removed your access from my individual credit.”
“Because you’re trying to scare me.”
“Because we are divorcing.”
Vivian shook her head.
“No.”
Ethan almost smiled from disbelief.
“No what?”
“We are not.”
“The filing says otherwise.”
“You can withdraw it.”
“I won’t.”
Her face tightened.
“Because of Mason?”
“Because of you.”
“Mason is over.”
“That’s not good news.”
“You think I’m choosing him?”
“I don’t care.”
“I ended it.”
Ethan stared.
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Or did he refuse to leave his wife?”
Vivian’s expression answered first.
Ethan nodded slowly.
“That’s what I thought.”
She started crying.
Not loudly.
Tears appeared and slipped beneath the makeup she had applied before returning.
“I made mistakes.”
Ethan looked away.
“Please don’t use that word.”
“What word?”
“Mistakes.”
“What do you want me to call them?”
“Choices.”
Vivian wiped her face angrily.
“You think that makes you morally superior?”
“No.”
“You think you were a perfect husband?”