Chapter 5 - Mark's Version Was Worse"Say that again."
Daniel put the phone on speaker.
Laura moved toward him.
"Daniel, turn that off."
He stepped away.
"Mark."
Mark's voice came through the office.
"She told me you knew."
Laura laughed in disbelief.
"You're lying."
"Laura, don't."
"You coward."
Daniel raised his voice.
"Both of you stop."
Silence.
He looked at Laura.
"When did you tell him I knew?"
"I never did."
Mark answered immediately.
"February."
Daniel frowned.
"The affair started in March."
"That's what she told you?"
Laura's face tightened.
Daniel felt another floor disappear beneath him.
"When did it start?"
Mark breathed out.
"The first time we kissed was in January."
Daniel slowly turned toward Laura.
She shook her head.
"No."
Mark continued.
"The first time we slept together was February twelfth."
"Shut up, Mark."
Laura's voice cracked.
Daniel remembered February twelfth.
It had been two days before Valentine's Day.
He'd been in Dallas for a development conference.
Laura had complained that he would miss Sophie's school performance.
Daniel had changed his flight.
He'd made it home the following evening and surprised them.
Laura had hugged him in the kitchen.
Mark had been there too.
He had claimed he'd stopped by to drop off paperwork.
Daniel felt nauseated.
"Was he in this house?"
No one answered.
"February twelfth. Was he here?"
Mark said, "Yes."
Laura sank into a chair.
Daniel stared at the ceiling.
He didn't want to imagine it.
He refused to ask where.
"Why did she tell you I knew?"
Mark hesitated.
"She said you two had an arrangement."
Daniel actually laughed.
The sound startled everyone.
"An arrangement?"
"She said the marriage was basically over."
Laura shook her head.
"I said we were discussing separation."
"You said Daniel didn't care who you saw."
"I never said that."
"You absolutely did."
Daniel watched them turn on each other.
It should have felt satisfying.
It didn't.
It felt pathetic.
Two people who had lied together for months were suddenly outraged to discover the other had also lied.
"What did Laura tell you about Rachel?" Daniel asked.
Mark went quiet.
"Did she tell you I was sleeping with her?"
"She said she suspected it."
Laura stood.
"Because you told me!"
"No. I said Daniel and Rachel spent a lot of time together."
"You said everybody at the office noticed."
"I never said affair."
"You knew exactly what you were implying."
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"Mark, did I ever tell you I wanted to leave Laura?"
"No."
Laura stared at the phone.
Mark continued.
"You complained sometimes."
"About normal marriage things?"
"Yeah."
"Did I ever say I felt trapped because of Sophie?"
Silence.
"Mark?"
"No."
Laura looked as if she'd been struck.
Daniel didn't feel vindicated.
If anything, it made the betrayal more senseless.
Laura had believed what she wanted to believe.
Mark had encouraged it.
And Daniel had been living in the middle, unaware that ordinary frustrations were being repackaged as evidence his marriage was dead.
"Why?" Daniel asked.
Mark didn't answer.
"Why tell my wife things that made her think I wanted out?"
"Daniel—"
"Because you wanted her?"
Another pause.
"Yes."
There it was.
Simple.
Ugly.
Human.
Daniel looked at Laura.
She whispered, "I didn't know."
"You didn't ask."
"I did ask you."
"You asked once if there was another woman. I said no."
"You were always gone."
"That doesn't make Mark's lie true."
Laura looked away.
Daniel turned his attention back to the phone.
"And you believed I knew about the affair?"
"At first."
"At first."
Daniel's voice sharpened.
"When did you realize I didn't?"
Mark said nothing.
"First time you hid your car?"
No answer.
"First time Laura told you not to text?"
Still nothing.
"First time you used the side door?"
"Daniel."
"When?"
"February."
Daniel stared at the phone.
"So almost immediately."
"Yes."
"And you continued."
"Yes."
"Five months."
"Six."
Daniel looked at Laura.
She closed her eyes.
Every number changed.
Every answer shrank the marriage slightly further.
"Anything else I should find out before dinner?"
Laura said, "Don't do this."
Daniel ignored her.
"Mark?"
Mark's voice dropped.
"Yes."
Laura's head rose.
"Don't."
Daniel felt the warning in her voice.
"What?"
Mark breathed slowly.
"The anniversary isn't the only reason she's waiting."
Laura rushed toward the phone.
Daniel moved back.
"Mark, stop."
"Why?"
"Because this has nothing to do with you."
He laughed bitterly through the speaker.
"Apparently I was good enough to destroy my best friend's marriage with, but not good enough to know the plan?"
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"What plan?"
Laura said nothing.
Mark answered.
"She wanted you to sign the Westbridge deal first."
Daniel froze.
Westbridge.
The biggest transaction his company had negotiated in three years.
Closing was scheduled in nineteen days.
One week before the anniversary.
"What does Westbridge have to do with my divorce?"
Mark gave a humorless laugh.
"Ask your wife."
Daniel stared at Laura.
She looked suddenly less like a guilty spouse and more like someone whose carefully constructed timeline had just collapsed.
"What happens after Westbridge closes?"
Laura remained silent.
Daniel stepped closer.
May you like
"What were you waiting to happen to my company before you left me?"
And for the first time, Laura looked genuinely frightened of what he was about to discover.
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