“Did Samantha know that?” Ethan asked.
“Yes.”
Samantha spoke in the background.
“I knew some of it.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
He did not have enough energy to separate their versions in real time.
“Dylan, leave my property.”
“I came because I can pay some of it back.”
“How much?”
“Five thousand now.”
“Do not send money anywhere until the attorneys tell you how to handle it.”
“I do not have an attorney.”
“Get one.”
Dylan swore under his breath.
“This was not supposed to become this.”
Ethan felt his jaw tighten.
“What was it supposed to become?”
Dylan did not answer.
Ethan asked again.
“What did you think would happen?”
“I do not know.”
“You met my wife for months.”
“You took money from her.”
“You accepted an investment you believed came from our marital account.”
“You slept with her in a hotel she reserved.”
“At what point were you planning to know what was happening?”
Dylan’s voice became defensive.
“She told me you two were basically done.”
“Did she look basically divorced when she arrived wearing her wedding ring?”
Dylan said nothing.
That silence mattered more than an apology.
Ethan continued.
“Leave.”
“All communication goes through Laura from now on.”
“I do not want to see you at the house.”
“I do not want you contacting me directly.”
“If Samantha chooses to contact you, that is her decision.”
“But you do not use me as a character in whatever story makes this easier for either of you.”
Dylan’s voice softened.
“I am sorry.”
Ethan looked toward the window.
“Then leave.”
The line went quiet.
Samantha came back on.
“He is getting in his car.”
“Good.”
“Ethan.”
“Yes?”
“I need you to understand the investment was not about an affair at first.”
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
“You keep saying at first like it erases where it went.”
“I was trying to do something for myself.”
“You could have invested in something for yourself.”
“You could have started a business.”
“You could have spent your own separate earnings.”
“You could have brought me a proposal and told me you wanted to use shared savings.”
“You did not do any of those things.”
Samantha’s breathing shook.
“I knew you would say no.”
“That is not permission to lie.”
“You always needed numbers and plans and guarantees.”
“That is because twenty-five thousand dollars is money, Samantha.”
“It is not a feeling.”
“It does not become less real because someone makes you feel young.”
She went quiet.
Ethan immediately regretted the last sentence.
Not because it was false.
