She needs security too much.”
Bennett stared at his own words.
His face went still.
“That was taken out of context.”
“What context makes it better?”
He said nothing.
Elise placed the final message beside it.
“Once I’ve built up enough money in the other account, I’m walking away clean.”
The kitchen became silent.
Bennett read it once.
Then again.
When he looked at her, his anger had changed into calculation.
“Elise, listen to me.”
She almost laughed.
For months, he had trained her to believe that listening meant surrendering.
Now he desperately needed to be heard.
“It wasn’t what you think.”
“You were building an account I didn’t know about.”
“I was saving.”
“Secretly.”
“For us.”
“You told Heather you were going to walk away clean.”
“I was angry.”
“For eleven months?”
He dragged a chair away from the table and sat down.
The performance shifted again.
His shoulders dropped.
His voice softened.
“Elise, marriages get complicated.”
She said nothing.
“I haven’t been happy for a long time.”
There it was.
The explanation he had apparently been saving for the moment excuses became necessary.
“You could have told me.”
“I tried.”
“No.
You complained.
You withdrew.
You lied.
Those are not the same thing.”
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“Heather listened to me.”
Elise felt the familiar pain rise, but it no longer controlled the room.
“And while she listened, you used our money to buy dinners, hotels, jewelry, and a romantic weekend.”
“I can pay that back.”
“That isn’t the only issue.”
“I said I can fix it.”
“You were planning to leave me financially exposed.”
His eyes flashed.
“You don’t know that.”
“I know exactly what you wrote.”
He stood again.
“You’re going to regret turning this into a war.”
The threat was quiet.
That made it clearer.
Elise looked at him for a long moment.
