Chapter 3 - “Soon” Had a DateDaniel closed the bedroom door again.
"When?"
Laura looked exhausted.
"What?"
"When were you planning to divorce me?"
Her shoulders stiffened.
"I haven't decided."
"Mark thinks you have."
"Mark doesn't know everything."
"That might be the first useful thing you've said."
Laura sat on the edge of the bed.
Daniel couldn't stand seeing her there.
"Get off."
She stared at him.
"What?"
"Please don't sit there."
Understanding crossed her face.
She immediately stood.
Daniel hated that he had to explain nothing.
The bed had already become contaminated in his mind by possibilities he didn't want.
"Mark asked when you were finally divorcing me."
"You heard that?"
"I heard enough."
Laura looked down.
"What did 'soon' mean?"
"I don't know."
"Tomorrow?"
"No."
"Next week?"
"No."
"Next month?"
Silence.
Daniel studied her.
"Next month."
"I said I don't know."
Their tenth wedding anniversary was twenty-six days away.
The thought arrived unexpectedly.
Daniel's breathing slowed.
"After our anniversary?"
Laura's eyes moved.
Tiny reaction.
But enough.
Daniel knew her too well.
Or at least he'd thought he did.
"Why after our anniversary?"
"It isn't about that."
"Then why did your face change?"
"My face didn't change."
He almost smiled.
Months of deception had made her confident, but she still had tells.
Laura touched her hair when she needed time to invent an answer.
She was doing it now.
"What's special about ten years?"
"Nothing."
Daniel suddenly remembered the prenuptial agreement.
His father had insisted on it.
Daniel had hated the conversation at the time.
He had been twenty-six, deeply in love, and offended by the implication that Laura might ever become an adversary.
Thomas Bennett had been less romantic.
You protect the company because hundreds of people work there, he'd said. Marriage is personal. Their livelihoods aren't.
Laura had eventually signed.
Daniel barely remembered the details now.
He knew the family business and several premarital properties were protected.
He knew there were provisions for spousal support.
And somewhere in the agreement—
A sunset provision.
His stomach tightened.
"Laura."
She looked at him.
"What happens to the prenup after ten years?"
Nothing moved in her face.
That was the answer.
Daniel pulled out his phone.
"Who are you calling?"
"My attorney."
"Daniel, don't."
He stopped before dialing.
"Why?"
"Because you're upset."
"That's a spectacular observation."
"We should talk before lawyers get involved."
"You've already talked to one."
Laura froze.
Daniel hadn't known.
He'd guessed.
Her reaction confirmed it.
"Who?"
"Daniel."
"How long have you had a divorce attorney?"
"I consulted someone."
"When?"
"Months ago."
"Before Mark?"
She hesitated.
"Laura."
"Before things became physical."
Daniel stared at her.
That changed the timeline.
This hadn't begun because an affair unexpectedly complicated their marriage.
Laura had been exploring divorce before Mark entered her bed.
"How long before?"
"Two months."
"So seven months ago."
"Approximately."
"Stop saying approximately."
She crossed her arms.
"We weren't happy."
"I didn't know we were unhappy enough for you to secretly hire a divorce lawyer."
"That's part of the problem. You didn't notice anything."
Daniel absorbed the accusation.
There were probably pieces of truth inside it.
He had worked long hours.
He had missed dinners.
He had checked emails during vacations.
Their marriage had become predictable.
But dissatisfaction did not explain deception.
"When does the prenup expire?"
Laura looked toward the window.
"Some provisions change after ten years."
"Which provisions?"
"I don't remember."
"Your lawyer does."
She didn't respond.
Daniel unlocked his phone.
Laura stepped forward.
"Please don't call anyone yet."
"Why?"
"Because once we start doing this through attorneys, there's no coming back."
Daniel stared at her.
"You had a man hiding in our closet."
Tears filled her eyes again.
"I know."
"You've been sleeping with him for five months."
"I know."
"You had a divorce lawyer before that."
She looked away.
"And you've been waiting for our anniversary."
"I wasn't waiting."
"Then file today."
Laura's head snapped toward him.
"Excuse me?"
"If you want a divorce, file today."
"Daniel, I'm not making a decision while you're furious."
"This isn't my decision."
"You think everything is simple because you're hurt."
"No. I think you made it simple when you answered Mark."
Daniel walked closer.
"Soon. Just give me a little more time."
Laura went still.
He had heard every word.
"What were you waiting for?"
She didn't answer.
Daniel nodded.
"I'll find out myself."
He left the bedroom.
This time she followed.
"Daniel."
He ignored her.
In his office downstairs, he opened the fireproof cabinet containing their legal documents.
Laura stopped in the doorway.
He found the prenup.
He hadn't read it in years.
Pages of legal language.
Schedules of assets.
Signatures.
Then the clause.
After the tenth anniversary, several limitations on spousal-support calculations changed.
More importantly, appreciation of certain business interests accumulated during marriage would become subject to a different division formula under their agreement.
Daniel read it twice.
Then he looked at Laura.
"Twenty-six days."
She said nothing.
"That's the 'little more time,' isn't it?"
"It's not what you think."
"What do I think?"
"That I stayed married to you for money."
Daniel held up the document.
"Did you?"
Laura's face hardened.
For the first time that afternoon, she stopped looking guilty.
"Do you really want the answer?"
Daniel felt something colder than anger.
"Yes."
Laura looked directly at him.
May you like
"I stayed because after nine years of being second place to your company, I wasn't going to walk away with nothing."
And Daniel realized Mark might not even be the person who had betrayed him most carefully.
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