The rest of the party was surreal. I kept my distance from Marcus, and he kept his from Sarah. She didn't seem to notice anything was off. Around 10:00 p.m., she found me near the bar, a little tipsy, laughing with some of her co-workers. "Having fun?" she asked, sliding her arm around my waist.
"Yeah, it's a great party. Your company knows how to throw an event." "Did you meet Marcus?" "Briefly. Seemed like a nice guy."
She smiled, relieved. "Good. I'm glad tonight went smoothly." We left around 11:00. In the car, she was chatty, relaxed.
She had no idea. When we got home, she kissed me good night and passed out almost immediately. I stayed up until 3:00 a.m., staring at the ceiling trying to figure out my next move. Monday morning I called a divorce attorney. Consultation was scheduled for Wednesday.
I also called my PI buddy and asked him to keep digging. I wanted everything documented in case this got ugly. Tuesday night Sarah got a call around 7:00 p.m. She answered in the living room and I could hear her voice go from casual to tense in seconds. "What do you mean you're leaving? Marcus, wait.
No, we had a plan. What happened?" She walked into the bedroom and closed the door. I pressed my ear against it. "You can't just quit.
We've been planning this for months. What did he say to you? Marcus, answer me." Silence. Then I heard her start crying.
Soft at first, then harder. I walked away and sat on the couch. About 10 minutes later she came out, face blotchy, eyes red. "Everything okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, just some drama at work." She wiped her eyes and went to the kitchen. I didn't push it. Update three, Wednesday I met with the attorney, showed him everything. He said I had a solid case especially with the financial planning for the affair.
He advised me to file soon before she could move assets around or change the narrative. Thursday morning I got a call from my PI. "You're going to want to hear this." Marcus didn't just quit, he's leaving the state. Put in his notice on Monday effective immediately.
Told his company it was a family emergency. He's moving back to Oregon." "Are you serious?" "Dead serious. He's running.
And get this, he withdrew his half of the joint account, all of it. Sarah's portion is still sitting there." I almost laughed. He'd bailed completely, left her holding the bag. That night, I sat Sarah down.
She knew something was coming. I could see it in her face. "We need to talk." I said. "About what?"
"About Marcus. About the apartment. About the $47,000 in an account I don't have access to." Her face crumbled. No denial.