Chapter 3: EIGHT MONTHS OF SECRETS

Arthur read the documents at 2:17 that afternoon.

I knew the precise time because he immediately contacted Rebecca.

She called me soon afterward.

“He’s insisting you can’t do this.”

“Can’t do what?”

“Refuse to continue covering his housing expenses.”

“Did you remind him he’s permitted to pay them himself?”

“I advised him to study the lease and review his finances before demanding anything from you.”

I heard papers moving on her desk.

“There’s another issue, Sarah.”

I sat straighter.

“What is it?”

“He describes the rent payments as an informal arrangement concerning marital expenses.”

“Which is essentially what they were.”

“Yes. But he also claims you promised to maintain the household indefinitely.”

I looked around the unfamiliar living room.

“That’s completely untrue.”

“Do you have anything written about the original arrangement?”

My mind returned to an evening four years earlier.

Arthur had been sitting at the kitchen counter with his laptop open, studying an invoice that was already overdue.

Two major clients had stopped working with his company.

He was frightened, although he tried to disguise it.

I offered to pay the rent until the business improved.

His immediate concern had been making certain Eleanor didn’t learn about the company’s problems.

Later, he sent me a message thanking me.

Thank you for handling the rent until the company is doing better. I promise I’ll repay your kindness.

I remembered my response too.

We’re husband and wife. We’re supposed to help each other. I only need us to be truthful about what we can afford.

“I may have something,” I told Rebecca.

“Find it and send it over.”

I searched through my old email.

Both messages were still there, dated four years earlier.

Reading my own words was painful.

I hadn’t been foolish about finances.

I’d understood that Arthur needed help.

What I hadn’t understood was how easily the man I loved could use my willingness to protect him.

I forwarded the exchange.

Rebecca called again ten minutes later.

“These messages support the circumstances under which you started paying. They don’t resolve every legal issue by themselves, but they’re valuable.”

“Arthur probably remembers sending them.”

“Possibly.”

“Then why is he saying I agreed to keep paying forever?”

Rebecca hesitated.

“Because he may still believe he can make you feel guilty enough to continue.”

Leo contacted me that evening.

His name appearing on my phone surprised me.

He hadn’t called me directly for months.

For a long time, our relationship had consisted mostly of short birthday greetings and careful exchanges during holidays. When something needed to be communicated, Arthur or Eleanor generally acted as the intermediary.

I considered ignoring the call.

Then I answered.

“Hello, Leo.”

“Sarah.”

He sounded uncomfortable.

“Grandma says you destroyed the apartment.”

I closed my eyes briefly.

“Is that what she told you?”

“She said you hired movers and emptied the place while she couldn’t do anything about it.”

“I removed belongings that were mine. Nobody damaged anything.”

“She says you’re doing this because you don’t want Valerie and me moving in.”

“Leo, I wasn’t the person who decided who should live there.”

He paused.

“Grandma told us you’d agreed.”

“I agreed to move out.”

“So why make everything difficult?”

I sat on the edge of my bed.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Okay.”

“Before last night, had anyone told you they were asking me to leave?”

Silence.

Then he said, “Dad mentioned you were thinking about getting your own apartment.”

I swallowed.

“Did he say that?”

“He said the marriage wasn’t going well.”

“Did he tell you I had agreed to give you the apartment?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what did he say?”

Leo sighed.

“Sarah, I really don’t want to be caught in the middle.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“Valerie’s expecting a baby. We’re just trying to have things organized before she gives birth.”

“I understand.”

“Then why take all the stuff?”

I looked at the plain walls of my temporary apartment.

“Because I purchased those belongings, Leo. And because your grandmother told me I didn’t belong there anymore.”

He went quiet.

I continued.

May you like

“You’re going to be a father soon. I hope you and Valerie create a home where nobody has to question whether they’re wanted.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means exactly what I said.”

He exhaled sharply.

“Grandma says you’re punishing everyone.”

“I’m not punishing anybody.”

“Then what was that envelope for?”

“It’s a matter between your father and me.”

For several seconds, neither of us said anything.

When Leo spoke again, the certainty had disappeared from his voice.

“Did you know we were supposed to move in?”

“No.”

“You only found out last night?”

“That’s right.”

He didn’t respond for a long moment.

Then he said, “Okay.”

The call ended.