“He said Vivian left you because she was trying to determine whether she wanted a future with him.”
The gas station seemed suddenly too bright.
Ethan watched someone wash a windshield across the lot.
“She told me she wanted to date several people.”
Tessa laughed once.
Not humor.
“I’m sure that sounded less incriminating.”
“Did Mason leave you?”
“No.”
“Is he going to?”
“He thought he was.”
Ethan looked toward the steering wheel.
“What happened?”
“I told him if he walked out, he was not coming back.”
The parallel was almost grotesque.
Tessa continued.
“He panicked.”
“He wants counseling.”
“He says Vivian misunderstood what he promised.”
Ethan’s chest tightened.
“Did she?”
“I don’t know.”
“I have messages.”
“I found them on our synced laptop.”
She hesitated.
“I can send only what my attorney approves.”
“Please do.”
Another pause.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Money.”
Ethan went still.
“How much?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Mason told me Vivian invested in a project.”
“How much?”
“He said sixty thousand.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
The transfers.
Eight-five.
Twelve.
Forty-two.
Not all at once.
Possibly the same.
“What project?”
“A boutique hotel conversion in Charleston.”
“Does it exist?”
“Yes.”
“But the investment structure is… complicated.”
“What does that mean?”
“My attorney thinks Mason took money personally and then booked it as a private note.”
Ethan stared ahead.
“So my wife transferred joint money to her married boyfriend’s deal.”
“I think so.”
Tessa’s voice softened.
“I’m sorry.”
Ethan swallowed.
“Me too.”
They ended the call carefully.
No promises.
No alliance.
Just two people standing on opposite sides of the same wreckage.
That evening, Ethan did something he regretted immediately.
He opened Vivian’s social media.
Nothing obvious.
No Mason.
No hotel.
Pictures from a spa.
Coffee.
A sunset from a balcony.
One image of a white robe and champagne.
Caption:
Sometimes space is where clarity begins.
Ethan stared.
Then deleted the app.
On day six, Vivian’s messages changed.
We’re adults. Stop acting like this.
Then:
If you’re trying to punish me by disappearing, it’s not working.
Then:
We need to discuss finances.
That last one almost made him respond.
Instead he sent everything to Rebecca.
She called.
“Good restraint.”
“I’m not restrained.”
“I’m sitting on my hands.”
“Same outcome.”
Ethan spent the rest of the day doing something that surprised him.
He removed the wedding photographs.
Not smashed.
Not burned.