Lily laughed harder.
The moment passed.
Ethan cleaned the glass.
Lily helped him make pancakes.
No punishment.
No lesson.
No humiliation.
Just breakfast.
Those ordinary moments rebuilt something inside her.
They rebuilt Ethan too.
He reduced his travel by almost seventy percent.
Caldwell Development did not collapse.
That surprised him more than it should have.
For years he had behaved as though every major decision required his presence.
It did not.
His executives were capable.
His company survived without him sitting in every conference room.
One evening, Michael approached him after a board meeting.
“You know something?”
“What?”
“You’re less annoying now.”
Ethan looked at him.
“That seems inappropriate.”
“You used to answer emails at two in the morning.”
“I still do.”
“Not as many.”
“I’m going to fire you.”
Michael smiled.
“No, you aren’t.”
Ethan almost smiled back.
Then Michael became serious.
“How’s Lily?”
“Better.”
“And you?”
Ethan thought about it.
“Learning.”
The divorce mediation occurred five months after the closet incident.
Vanessa entered the conference room wearing a dark blue suit.
It was the first time Ethan had seen her in person since she left the house.
She looked thinner.
Tired.
Still beautiful.
That surprised him too.
He expected anger to change the way he saw her completely.
It did not.
He could still remember loving her.
That was one of the most difficult parts.
Vanessa sat across from him.
Her attorney began discussing property.
The house.
Investments.
Jewelry.
A vacation property in Nantucket.
Numbers moved across the table.
Ethan barely listened.
Then Mitchell Grant mentioned the prenuptial agreement.
Vanessa interrupted.
“I want to talk to Ethan alone.”
Both attorneys objected.
Ethan considered it.
“Five minutes.”
David looked at him.
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
The attorneys stepped outside.
Vanessa and Ethan remained on opposite sides of the table.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Vanessa said, “How is she?”
Ethan stared at her.
“You don’t get to ask that.”
“I still care about her.”
“No.”
Vanessa flinched.
“You don’t know what I feel.”
“You’re right.”
Ethan leaned back.
“And I don’t need to.”
She looked down.
“I was angry.”
“I know.”
“I felt like I disappeared in that house.”
Ethan said nothing.
“Everything was Lily.”
“She was six when we married.”
“I know.”
“Then what did you expect?”
Vanessa looked at him.
“I expected to matter.”
“You did.”
“Not enough.”
Ethan was quiet.
Vanessa continued.
“You had photos of Laura everywhere.”
“Lily wanted them.”
“I know.”
“Laura was her mother.”
“I know.”
“You wanted me to erase her?”
“No.”
Vanessa looked away.
“Maybe.”
Ethan studied her.
“At least you’re saying it now.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You loved a dead woman more than you loved me.”
Ethan took a breath.