“You were choosing furniture for another woman’s house.”
I stared at him.
“Where was I while you were planning all this?”
He said nothing.
“I was right here.”
I pointed toward the living room.
“You were sitting beside me planning summer vacations.”
“You kissed me.”
“You told me we were happy.”
“And meanwhile, you were practicing how to remove me from my own life.”
“I never wanted to take Chloe away from you.”
Ryan sat down.
“I wanted everything decided first so there wouldn’t be a fight.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You wanted to hand me a finished decision.”
Then he said something almost unbelievable.
“I didn’t want to lose you.”
He looked up.
“I wanted Dana too.”
I stared at him.
“That isn’t confusion.”
“What?”
“You keep saying you were confused.”
I shook my head.
“But wanting both women while lying to both of us isn’t confusion.”
“It’s entitlement.”
“I made a mistake.”
“The ice cream topping was a mistake.”
I lifted the folder.
“The rest was planning.”
“The affair was made of decisions.”
“Every Sunday.”
“Every message.”
“Every lie.”
“You chose each one.”
I went upstairs and packed Chloe’s clothes.
Her pajamas.
Toothbrush.
Mr. Hops.
Her turtle-shaped nightlight.
Three favorite books.
When I returned downstairs, Ryan was still sitting in the office.
“We’re separating.”
He looked up quickly.
“Actually separating.”
I held his gaze.
“Not the imaginary separation you invented for Dana.”
“Maeve, you can’t decide our marriage alone.”
I almost laughed.
“You already did.”
“You made decisions about our marriage, our daughter, and our future without me.”
I picked up Chloe’s bag.
“I’m simply deciding what I do next.”
“And Chloe?”
“We’ll arrange everything through a lawyer.”
I paused.
“No secret visits.”
“No undisclosed partners around her.”
