I thought about how casually she'd answered me. I went into the kitchen and poured a glass of water. My hands were shaking badly enough that I put the glass down before I dropped it. She followed me and said she knew she'd hurt me. She said she hadn't known how to end it.
She said Rhett had been there when she was lonely and she hadn't felt like I noticed her anymore. I asked whether she'd told me she was lonely. She said she had tried. I remembered arguments about my hours, about canceled weekends, about me being tired when I got home. Those arguments had happened.
I wasn't going to pretend otherwise. We'd even talked about counseling after another disappointing fertility appointment the previous year. She'd said we were fine, just busy. I believed her. Did Dash know?
She said he found out in early June, not long after it started. I asked if he knew before or after she started using the house. She said he found them there one afternoon. I asked whether he'd told her to leave. She said he'd been furious.
I asked what happened after that. She said, "Rhett talked to him." She said Dash told them they couldn't keep doing it. But then he'd called Rhett a few days later and said the house was empty that Friday if they needed it. I said, "My brother told you when the house was empty?"
I asked how often. She said she didn't know. Rhett arranged it. Sometimes Dash would tell him when Mom and Dad were coming. Sometimes he'd ask them to leave early because a cleaner was scheduled.
I asked whether Dash had ever said anything to her about me. She said he'd told her to make up her mind and stop hurting me. Then, apparently, he'd kept giving them a place to meet. That was the part that made me sit down. Not because the affair hurt less.
It didn't. But I could picture Dash at my birthday dinner in November asking whether Maren and I were taking a trip for our anniversary. I could picture him handing me a beer at Christmas and telling me I worked too much. He'd been doing all that while he knew. Maren started crying.
She said she wanted to fix things. She said she'd stop seeing Rhett and change jobs if she had to. I told her I wasn't making any decisions that night. I needed her to sleep in the guest room and I needed her not to call Dash or Rhett while I figured out what I was doing. The next day I called Tobin Price.
Tobin was a friend from work, 40, divorced, and the kind of person who could sit with you without trying to solve your life in 10 minutes. I told him my wife had been having an affair. I told him who it was with. When I got to Dash, he said, "Hang on. Your brother knew?"
After a while, Tobin offered his spare room. I told him I might need it for a few nights. I also called a family law attorney. Her office couldn't see me until Friday. The receptionist asked whether there were children involved, whether we owned a home, and whether I felt safe at the house.
I said no children, yes house, and yes, I felt safe. She told me not to make big changes to shared accounts before I spoke to the attorney. I wasn't planning to. I wanted information, not a fight over money at the bank. I took two changes of clothes to Tobin's after work.
I texted Maren where I was staying and said we would discuss practical matters after I met the attorney. She asked whether I was leaving her. I said I didn't know how to stay in the house right then. Dash called me that night. I watched his name light up my phone until it stopped.
Then he sent a message saying we needed to talk before Mom and Dad heard a distorted version of things. I texted back, "Did you know about Maren and Rhett?" He didn't answer that question. He told me to come to the lake house Saturday morning. He said he wanted to speak face-to-face, away from everyone.
I asked if Rhett would be there. He said no. I told him I'd come at 10:00. I met the attorney on Friday. She'd explained the basics of separation, property, and the extra legal questions adultery raised in South Carolina.
She told me not to expect a fast or painless divorce, and not to make any sudden moves with our joint accounts. I left her office knowing I wanted to file, even if I still hated saying it out loud. Rhett's pickup was in the driveway when I arrived. Dash was standing by the kitchen island. Rhett was near the sliding doors with a mug of coffee.
He looked like he'd been there for a while. Dash said he'd asked Rhett to come because it would be better if everyone heard the same thing. I asked Rhett how long he'd been sleeping with my wife. He put the mug down and said it was complicated. He said they'd gotten close over time.
He said nobody had meant for it to happen. I asked if he'd meant to keep meeting her at my parents' house after it happened. He looked at Dash. I asked Dash how many times he'd given them the house. He said he hadn't counted.
I took the cleaning summary from my pocket and put it on the island. I pointed to the dates. He glanced at the paper and said those weren't all their visits. He said some were for other people, contractors and friends, and I shouldn't assume every charge was Maren and Rhett. I told him I wasn't assuming that.
I was asking how many times he had knowingly helped them meet. He rubbed his face. He said, "Enough times that I should have stopped it." He said he'd tried. Rhett interrupted and said Maren was an adult who'd made her own choices.
I told him I knew she had. I told him Maren was responsible for her choices. Rhett was responsible for his. Rhett said my marriage had been in trouble long before he got involved. I asked how he knew what was happening in my marriage.
He said Maren had talked to him. I could feel myself getting angry in a way I wasn't used to. I took a step toward him. Dash moved between us and put a hand on my shoulder. He told me to calm down.
I knocked his hand off. I didn't hit him. I didn't touch Rhett. I just wanted Dash to stop treating me like the problem in the room. I said, "You gave him a key to our family's house.
You helped him sleep with my wife. And now you're telling me to calm down." Dash told me to lower my voice. He said Mom and Dad didn't need to hear about this until we knew how to handle it. I said Mom and Dad own the house.
They had a right to know who'd been staying there. Rhett told him to stop talking. Dash turned toward him and I watched something change in my brother's face. He wasn't worried about me getting upset. He was worried about Rhett.
He said nothing. Then he said, "You don't understand what happens if Rhett decides to burn everything down." Dash wouldn't answer. Rhett said it was business stuff and none of my concern. I told him the business belonged to my family.
He said I didn't work there and didn't know what it took to keep it running. That part was true. I didn't work there. I'd chosen a different career because I didn't want to spend my life arguing with my brother about how things should be done. But Dad still owned the company and Dash was running it for him.