Chapter 7 - THE DIVORCE
I filed three weeks after Chicago.
My attorney asked whether I was certain.
“Yes.”
Not because people cannot recover from affairs.
Some do.
Because Tyler had not merely cheated.
He had built an alternate timeline.
Told Lauren separation was underway.
Told me our future remained intact.
Planned to leave after Mason finished school.
Stayed in our bed while privately rehearsing another life.
The deception had become architecture.
I did not want to rebuild inside it.
Our finances were ordinary compared with the stories people tell online.
House.
Retirement accounts.
College savings.
Cars.
Tyler’s pension.
My marketing-consulting business.
No secret billions.
No hidden empire.
We negotiated.
The house was sold.
I bought a three-bedroom townhouse near Mason’s school.
Tyler rented nearby because he wanted shared parenting time.
We agreed to a gradual schedule.
Not instant 50/50.
His flight schedule made that impractical anyway.
Mason needed stability.
Tyler attended therapy individually.
So did I.
Lauren disappeared from our lives.
I eventually answered her email.
Only three sentences:
Thank you for telling me clearly what happened.
I do not absolve you for knowingly entering a relationship with a married man.
I hope none of us ever repeats this version of ourselves.
She replied:
I understand.
That was all.
May you like
Good.
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