Chapter 2
His eyes closed for half a second.
“Fourteen thousand.”
The room tilted.
I knew that number.
There had been a withdrawal from our joint wedding account ten days earlier. Ryan told me it had gone toward final hotel charges and vendor balances.
I had been too busy to check.
“You used our wedding account?”
“I was replacing it after my annual bonus.”
“You lied to me.”
“I moved money from an account with both our names on it.”
“That is not an answer.”
“Claire, I knew the bonus was coming.”
“You told me it went to the hotel.”
“Because I knew you were overwhelmed.”
There it was.
A sentence I had heard in different forms for four years.
I didn’t tell you because you were overwhelmed.
I handled it so you wouldn’t worry.
I agreed because Mom was already upset.
Let’s just get through Christmas.
Let’s not make this into something bigger.
Margaret’s voice softened.
“Claire, everyone downstairs loves both of you. Do not let a difficult financial conversation destroy a four-year relationship.”
I looked at her.
Then Ryan.
And suddenly I understood why this had been considered a safe moment to tell me.
My dress had cost $4,600.
The photographer was downstairs.
The flowers had been delivered.
People had flown across the country.
My dead father had a chair waiting for him.
Everything around me was designed to make one response feel impossible.
No.
May you like
Ryan took my hand.
“Can we please just get through today?”
