Trent read the order twice before looking at me. The temporary agreement gave me exclusive use of the house while the divorce proceeded, and Corinne had included documentation tracing my mother’s inheritance into both the down payment and the original funding of his company. His hands started shaking. “You planned this while I was gone?” he demanded. I reminded him that he had announced our marriage was open without asking me, then spent marital money taking Paige across Europe. Paige stared at him. Apparently, he had told her the house and company were entirely his.
Then Trent noticed the expense summary attached to the order. Hotels, flights, restaurants, jewelry—every charge highlighted. Paige whispered, “You said the company paid for everything.” Trent snapped at her to stay out of it. She laughed bitterly. “You brought me into your marriage. I think I’m already in it.” That was when she grabbed her suitcase and walked back toward the door. Trent actually called after her. She never turned around.
His anger returned to me. He pointed at Nathan’s photograph and accused me of cheating. I almost smiled. Nothing had happened between Nathan and me, but Trent didn’t believe that. I told him the picture wasn’t there because Nathan was replacing him. It was there because that evening was the first time in years I remembered what I looked like when I wasn’t constantly managing someone else’s ego. “You wanted an open marriage,” I said. “What you really wanted was permission for yourself and loyalty from me.”
Trent left the house twenty minutes later with two suitcases and the framed court order under his arm. Months later, the divorce settlement forced him to repay a substantial portion of the affair expenses, and my documented inheritance protected more than he expected. I kept the house. I rebuilt my design career. Maddie eventually stopped checking her father’s social media.
And the photograph above the fireplace?
I replaced it again.
This time with one of Maddie and me, standing in our own living room, smiling like we finally belonged there.
