After I Gave My Husband Away, He Begged Me to Stay Chapter 07
The earliest message was from April 17.
Megan:
[The consultant says marriage is still the safest option. Noah moves in with his stepdad, and we
establish the address as his permanent residence.]
Diane:
[Then do it. You can divorce in a year.]
Ryan:
(Don’t tell Claire yet. She’ll lose it.]
Ethan:/
[What about the wedding?]
Ryan:
[Have the reception anyway. She’s not going to throw away eight years over paperwork.]
There was more.
May 2.
Ethan:
[She’s been asking again about when we’re going to the courthouse.]
Megan:
[Maybe we should forget it. I’m scared she’ll hate me when she finds out.)
↑ Ryan:
[She always gives in. Give her a few days and she’ll get over it. Stop freaking yourselves out.]
June 11.
Diane:
[The district says there may be a residency visit. Claire’s things will have to be moved out first.)/
Ethan:
‘ll tell her when the time comes.]
July 30.
Ryan:
【Schedule yours the day before hers. Don’t let the appointments overlap.]
The air conditioner was the only sound at the table.
Ryan stood first.
“Where did you get those screenshots?”
“Does it matter?”
“Did you go through my phone?”
“Your wife sent them to me last night.”
His face changed instantly.
“How did she-”
“She said you got drunk and your phone kept buzzing in the middle of the night.”
“She thought you were in debt again, so she checked the messages.”
I scrolled down.
The final screenshot was timestamped 10:12 p.m. last night.
Ryan:
【She really moved out?]
Ethan:
[Let her stay in a hotel for a couple of days and cool off.】
Diane:
[Don’t rush to comfort her. Otherwise she’ll threaten to leave every time she doesn’t like
something.]
Nurned my phone facedown.
“So you didn’t find out last night.”
Ryan’s mouth moved a few times.
“I…”
“You knew for four months.”
“Claire, I was afraid you’d do something impulsive.”
“So you made the decision for me?”
“I wasn’t deciding for you. I was trying to fix the problem first!”
His voice rose.
“If Noah misses enrollment this year, he waits a year. If you marry Ethan a year later, you wait a year too. What’s the difference?”
“There is one.”
“What?”
“He’s waiting to start school.”
I looked at Ethan.
“I was waiting for a husband.”
Ethan set his chopsticks down hard.
“How many times do I have to say it? It’s paperwork!”
“Then why did you hide it from me for four months?”
No one said a word.
I picked up my bag.
Diane snapped,
“Are you really determined to tear this family apart?”
“Whose family?”
I asked.
She froze.
I pointed toward the certified marriage paperwork Megan had put back in her purse.
“The two people named on that marriage record.”
“Enjoy lunch.”
I turned and walked out.
Ethan followed me.
The restaurant hallway was covered in thick carpet.
He caught up in a few strides and stepped in front of me.
“I can explain those messages.”
“Don’t.”
“Just listen to me.”
“I wanted to tell you back in April. Ryan said you’d never agree.
“Then the wedding was already booked, and I was afraid you’d cancel everything on impulse.”
“And you did.”
I looked at him.
“So you decided lying to me was the right thing to do?”
“I thought we should get the situation handled first.”
“And then?”
“Then I’d make it up to you.”
“How?”
“What do you want?”
He reached for my wrist.
“Abag? A car? A trip? We can make the wedding bigger. Tell me what you want.”
“Ethan.”
“Yeah?”
“I want a husband who isn’t married to someone else.”
His hand slowly dropped away.
I walked around him.
I heard a chair scrape behind us.
Megan had come out too.
“Claire!”
I did not turn around.
She called after me,
“If you and Ethan break up because of me, I’ll never forgive myself!”
I stopped for a second.
“Then livé with it.”
That afternoon, I met with an attorney.
The renovation payments weren’t hard to document.
Of the roughly forty thousand dollars I had put into the condo, about thirteen thousand had been
paid to the contractor in cash.
Fortunately, I still had the receipts and our messages.
The attorney’s name was Lauren Reed.
After reviewing the documents, she asked,
“Are you taking the furniture and appliances?”
“Anything that has to be taken apart stays.”
“You want to be reimbursed for the value?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure this wasn’t a gift?”
I pulled up a message Ethan had sent three years ago.
[Cover the renovation for now. When my year–end bonus comes in, I’ll pay you back little by little. We’re going to live there together anyway.]
Lauren nodded.
“This is enough.“