Chapter 2

Grant still had not answered my question by the time we went to bed.

"It's for emergencies," was all he said.

I did not ask again.

The next morning, while he showered, I opened the home-security app.

Laura Hale was listed under Household Access.

I tapped her name.

Access created: nine weeks ago.

I stared at the date.

My hysterectomy had only been scheduled five weeks ago.

Laura had not been given access because I was in the hospital.

She had been let into my home a month before anyone knew I would need surgery.

I took a screenshot.

When Grant came downstairs, he was fastening his watch.

I put my phone on the kitchen island.

"Nine weeks."

He glanced at the screen.

"What?"

"Laura's access was created nine weeks ago. My surgery wasn't scheduled until five weeks ago."

His hand stopped.

Then he reached for his coffee.

"So?"

"So what emergency started nine weeks ago?"

He exhaled.

"She was helping."

"With what?"

"Emma. The house. Whatever needed doing."

"I was still here."

"You were exhausted all the time."

"I was sick."

"I know."

"Then why didn't you help me?"

His eyes hardened.

"I did help."

"By giving your ex-wife a key?"

"By making sure things got done."

I stared at him.

"Without telling me."

"Because every conversation turned into how tired you were or what appointment you had next."

For a second, I could not speak.

He was describing my illness like it had been an inconvenience he had to manage.

"I was bleeding for months, Grant."

"And I was trying to keep everything from falling apart."

"I never asked you to do everything."

"No. You just couldn't do it yourself."

The words landed harder than I expected.

Then he said the one that stayed.

"I needed someone I could count on."

I looked at him.

When I had become weak, I thought my husband would become someone I could lean on.

Instead, he had decided I was the person no one could lean on anymore.

That sentence changed the question for me.

This was no longer about whether Laura had been helpful.

It was about when Grant had decided I was no longer the person he trusted to hold my own place in this family--and why he had made that decision without telling me.

Grant picked up his keys.

"I'm not doing this before work."

After he left, I opened Emma's school portal.

I did not need to dig for long.

Senior Parent Night.

Six weeks ago.

Attendees: Grant Bennett, Laura Hale, Emma Bennett.

I remembered that night immediately.

I had a pre-op appointment at the same time and offered to move it.

Grant had told me, "Don't. It's routine. I'll handle it."

I had believed "I'll handle it" meant he would go for both of us.

Instead, he had taken Laura.

My phone buzzed with a new school reminder.

Emma's college planning meeting was Friday afternoon.

I opened the details.

Grant was listed.

Laura was listed.

So was I.

I sat there for a moment, looking at all three names.

Then I pressed "Confirm attendance."

This time, I was not going to let Grant tell me afterward what had happened.

If he had already started making room for Laura in my place, I wanted to hear exactly how far he had gone.