Page 164 of Sin

He holds up both hands. “Too soon?”

“Yes.”

“Noted.”

The final settlement takes another ten days. Jenna keeps the house. She gets a substantial payout. She keeps the Lake Michigan property because she always loved it more than I did. She gets a generous support arrangement for a fixed term and a charitable foundation funded in her name. She doesn’t get my company, half my shares, and she sure as hell doesn’t get to restrict how SINsual Adult Toys handles Laurel’s employment or legal protection.

And in exchange, the evidence of Jenna’s affair stays private.

When I sign the agreement, my hand doesn’t shake. That surprises me.

Richard watches me from across the conference table. “How do you feel?”

“Poorer.”

His mouth twitches. “Emotionally.”

I set the pen down.

“I feel sad,” I say finally.

“That’s normal.”

“And relieved.”

“That is also normal.”

“And angry.”

“At Jenna?”

I think about that. “No.”

“At yourself?”

“Yes.”

Richard nods. I lean back in the chair and stare at the stack of papers that ended twenty-six years of marriage with signatures and initials.

“Do you want to know the strange part?” I ask.

Richard caps his pen. “I suspect I’m billing for it either way.”

“I’m not angry that Jenna cheated.”

“No?”

“No.” I look down at my bare hand. “I’m angry that I didn’t leave then. Or before then. Or any of the thousand times I knew we were done.”

Richard’s face softens, just slightly.

“I’m angry,” I continue, “that I waited until loving Laurel made the truth impossible to ignore.”

He doesn’t respond right away. Then he says, “Then don’t waste what the truth cost.”

That follows me out of his office.

By the time I get back to my apartment, the city is dark and my body is exhausted in a way sleep probably won’t touch. Wilder is there again because he has apparently decided I can’t be trusted alone with takeout menus and regret. I’ll never admit that I enjoy having him around.