“I chose to believe him.”
Claire said nothing.
“I met Sophie once.”
Claire’s hand tightened.
“When?”
“Ryan brought her to the office.”
“March.”
Silence.
“Yes.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“She saw us.”
“I know.”
“Did you know she hadn’t been told?”
“No.”
Vanessa’s voice broke.
“Ryan said she knew about the separation.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“He told everyone something different.”
“I should have asked you.”
Claire opened her eyes.
“Yes.”
Vanessa went quiet.
After a moment:
“I hated you.”
Claire almost smiled at the bluntness.
“Why?”
“Because he talked about you.”
“What did he say?”
“That you abandoned the company.”
Claire stared at the windshield.
“That you chose your mother over your marriage.”
Her jaw tightened.
“That you controlled him through your shares.”
“Interesting.”
“That every argument ended with him remembering you could block anything.”
Claire thought about that.
Ryan had never said that directly.
Maybe he felt it.
Maybe he used it.
Both could be true.
Vanessa continued:
“He said the only reason he hadn’t filed divorce papers was Sophie.”
Claire looked away.
“I believed him because it made me feel less terrible.”
That was honest.
“I knew there was a possibility he was lying.”
Claire’s expression changed.
Vanessa continued:
“I ignored it.”
“Because?”
“I loved him.”
Claire waited.
Vanessa gave a sad laugh.
“That sounds pathetic.”
“No.”
Claire surprised herself.
“It sounds human.”
Vanessa went quiet.
Claire added:
“It also doesn’t make it okay.”
“I know.”
Good.
“What about the engagement?”
Vanessa asked.
“What about it?”
“I didn’t know it was at a closing celebration until yesterday.”
Claire frowned.
“What?”
“Ryan told me the acquisition had been approved.”
“It wasn’t.”
“I know now.”
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
“He said announcing us before closing would stop gossip afterward.”
Claire almost admired Ryan’s talent for arranging multiple false narratives into one efficient evening.
Vanessa said:
“I gave the ring back.”
“He told me.”
“I resigned.”
Claire sat straighter.
“From Meridian?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t need to do that.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I was corporate communications vice president while sleeping with a married CEO during a transaction where his marital representations became material.”
Claire had no argument.
Vanessa continued:
“Even if I didn’t touch the documents, I can’t stand in front of employees and explain integrity.”
Claire respected that.
“I’m sorry.”
Vanessa laughed softly.
“You don’t have to be.”
“I know.”
They sat in silence over the phone.
Then Vanessa asked:
“Are you going to stay married?”
Claire looked at her mother’s empty house.
“No.”
The word came easily.