One:
Keep touching me around him. He hates it.
Another:
If he blows up in public, everything gets easier.
I stared.
Derek watched me.
“I didn’t understand at first.”
“You understood enough to keep doing it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He hesitated.
Then said:
“I hated you.”
I almost smiled.
“At least that's honest.”
“You had what I wanted.”
“My wife?”
“Everything.”
He rubbed his forehead.
“House. Career. People respected you.”
I said nothing.
“Brooke talked about you like you were stable.”
“That offended you?”
“It made me feel like nothing.”
“So you helped destroy it.”
“I convinced myself she was miserable.”
“And that made you the rescue?”
He lowered his eyes.
“No.”
Then he said:
“There’s more.”
I almost laughed.
Of course there was.
“What?”
“She asked me to hold money.”
“How much?”
“Twelve thousand.”
I stopped breathing normally.
“Where?”
“Account under my name.”
“You put my money in your account?”
“She told me it was hers.”
“And you believed her?”
Derek looked directly at me.
“I wanted to.”
That may have been the most honest sentence he said.
He produced transfer records.
Most of the money came from Brooke’s separate account.
Dana later traced much of that account back to our joint funds.
The irony was almost elegant.
Brooke used her affair partner as a bank because she did not trust him enough to build a future with.
Derek helped because he thought holding the money made him part of that future.
Both were lying to each other while lying to me.
“What did she tell you the money was for?”
“Fresh start.”
“The apartment?”
“Yeah.”
“You thought she planned to marry you?”
He looked embarrassed.
“Eventually.”
“Did she say that?”
“Not exactly.”
There it was again.
People heard what they wanted when the truth threatened what they wanted more.
Derek asked:
“What happens now?”
“To you?”
“To everything.”
I looked at him.
“I have no idea.”
He nodded.
“I’ll return the money.”
“You’ll speak to my attorney.”
“Okay.”
“And if she contacts you about hiding anything—”
“I won't.”
I stood.
Derek said my name.
I turned.
“I am sorry.”
I believed him.
That did not matter as much as he hoped.
CHAPTER 4: THE WOMAN I MARRIED SHOWED UP
Brooke learned about Dana one week after the party.
I knew because she walked into Tom’s office while I was there.
Sunglasses despite cloudy weather.
Hair perfect.
Face pale.
Tom’s receptionist tried to stop her.
I said it was fine.
Brooke entered the conference room.
Closed the door.
“You hired a lawyer.”
“Yes.”
“So that’s it?”
“No.”
Hope flashed across her face.
Then I placed the petition on the table.
“But I’m filing.”
Hope disappeared.
“Nathan.”
She stared at the paper.