Chapter 5 - THE APARTMENT WITH THE SECOND KEY
On Tuesday evening, Kyle arrived at the townhouse carrying flowers.
I opened the door but didn't invite him in immediately.
He looked exhausted.
“Ellie.”
“Kyle.”
He held up the bouquet.
White lilies.
My least favorite flowers.
I was allergic to their pollen.
After five years of marriage, he still didn't remember.
“Can we talk?”
“We can talk here.”
He glanced toward the street.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
He lowered the flowers.
“I know Friday looked bad.”
“It was bad.”
“Sophia and I have been working incredibly hard.”
I waited.
“Things got carried away.”
“Were you having an affair?”
He looked offended.
“What kind of question is that?”
“A straightforward one.”
“You know how close we are professionally.”
“That wasn't my question.”
He sighed.
“Ellie, you're turning a stupid joke into something ugly.”
I looked at him.
“Did you rent an apartment for Sophia?”
His expression changed.
Just slightly.
But I saw it.
“What?”
“There's a payment to an apartment management company on our credit card.”
He rubbed his forehead.
“That was a work expense.”
“Why was it charged to our personal account?”
“The corporate card was temporarily unavailable.”
“Then there should be a reimbursement.”
He stared.
I continued.
“Was there?”
“I don't have every transaction memorized.”
“Neither do I. That's why I keep records.”
His jaw tightened.
“You're interrogating me.”
“I'm asking where our money went.”
He stepped closer.
“Our money?”
I didn't move.
“Yes.”
“I earn more than you.”
There it was.
The sentence he had been circling for years.
I looked at him.
“And I pay the mortgage.”
He laughed sharply.
“You're really going to throw the house in my face?”
“You brought up income.”
“I thought we were partners.”
“So did I.”
He stared at me.
Then looked away.
“I'm staying at a hotel tonight.”
“All right.”
“You don't care?”
I took a breath.
“I care that you're lying.”
He shook his head.
“I can't talk to you like this.”
He walked away.
I watched him drive off.
Then I called Meredith.
Two days later, financial records obtained through the proper legal process showed that Kyle had been paying rent on a luxury apartment in Chicago's West Loop.
The lease listed two authorized occupants.
Kyle Bennett.
Sophia Grant.
The first payment had been made eight months earlier.
I stared at the document.
Eight months.
Eight months of hotel nights.
Business trips.
Late meetings.
Eight months of me asking whether he wanted dinner and him saying he'd already eaten.
Meredith sat across from me.
“Eleanor?”
I looked up.
“I'm filing.”
She nodded.
“For divorce?”
“Yes.”
May you like
My voice didn't shake.
“I'm done asking him to tell me the truth.”
