My husband left me alone at my boss’s Christmas dinner, then texted, “Work came up. Sorry, Issa.”

Vanessa turned toward him.

“Did you just threaten her?”

“No.”

“You said be careful.”

“I meant before she does something that affects Mason.”

I laughed again.

This time there was no humor in it.

“You removed Mason from your health benefits.”

“That was temporary.”

“You secretly borrowed against our house.”

“I can explain that.”

“You drained our savings.”

“I can explain that too.”

“And you publicly proposed to another woman while still married to me.”

He looked away.

“That part,” I said, “does not require much explanation.”

Vanessa slipped the engagement ring off her finger.

Tyler saw the movement.

“Vanessa.”

She placed the ring on the table.

The diamond clicked softly against the plastic surface.

“I spent five years believing one of my sons was buried somewhere.”

Tyler’s face tightened.

“I know.”

“No. You don’t get to say that.”

She pushed the ring toward him.

“I visited an empty grave.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *