Chương 8
His hand rested on her back.
The expression on his face looked familiar.
Too familiar.
Maya almost closed the app.
Then she noticed something.
Serena was not looking at the camera.
She was looking at Bryce.
Not lovingly.
Not happily.
Like she was trying to understand something.
Maya stared at the photograph.
Then another notification appeared.
A message from Ruth.
“Maya, we need to talk.”
Maya called immediately.
“What happened?”
Ruth did not answer right away.
That was unusual.
“What is it?”
“I received documents from Bryce’s attorney.”
“About the house?”
“No.”
Maya sat straighter.
“Then what?”
Ruth lowered her voice.
“About the company.”
Maya felt the room change.
“What company?”
“His company.”
A pause.
“Bryce has been hiding financial problems.”
Maya looked toward the window.
Snow continued falling over the village.
“He told me everything was fine.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because that is what he told everyone.”
Maya gripped the phone.
“What kind of problems?”
Ruth hesitated.
“Enough that the wedding may not be the only thing falling apart.”
Enough that the wedding may not be the only thing falling apart.
Maya stayed silent.
For a moment, she was back in Seattle.
Back in the office where Bryce would walk into meetings with a calm expression and a perfectly prepared explanation.
Back in their kitchen where he would tell her that stress was temporary.
Back in every conversation where she believed him because believing him was easier than imagining the alternative.
“What kind of financial problems?” she asked.
Ruth sighed.
“The company has been carrying more debt than you knew.”
Maya looked around the apartment.
The walls were familiar now.
The wooden table.
The chair near the window where she drank coffee every morning.
A life built from nothing.
“How much?”
“I can’t give you an exact number yet.”
“Ruth.”
“I’m serious, Maya.”
The attorney’s voice became firmer.
“There are documents I’m still reviewing.”
“Why are you reviewing company documents?”
“Because some of them were attached to the settlement negotiations.”
Maya frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Bryce used certain assets and valuations during discussions.”
A cold feeling settled in her stomach.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I need to know whether the information provided during the divorce process was complete.”
Maya stared at the floor.
The divorce had felt final.
Clean.
A line drawn between two lives.
Now it felt like someone was pulling at the edges.
“Did he lie?”
Ruth did not answer immediately.
“I don’t know yet.”
That answer bothered Maya more than a yes would have.
Because uncertainty had always been where Bryce lived comfortably.
Not in obvious lies.
In gray areas.
In explanations that were technically possible but emotionally incomplete.
“Should I be worried?”
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised her.
“About what?”
“About making sure you are protected.”
Maya rubbed her forehead.
“What does this have to do with Serena?”
“Possibly nothing.”
“And possibly?”
“Possibly everything.”
After the call ended, Maya sat at the table for almost an hour.
She did not call Bryce.
That surprised her.
The old Maya would have called immediately.
She would have demanded answers.
She would have tried to understand the situation before it became worse.
But the new Maya recognized something important.
Bryce had spent years making her feel responsible for discovering truths he had hidden.
She was done doing detective work for someone who benefited from being misunderstood.
That evening, Serena called.
Maya almost did not answer.
Then she remembered the woman on the other end was not Bryce.
“Hi.”
Serena sounded exhausted.
“Did you talk to Ruth?”
Maya froze.
“How do you know about Ruth?”
A pause.
“Because Bryce mentioned her.”
“What did he say?”
“That you were trying to make problems before the wedding.”
Maya closed her eyes.
Of course.
The pattern remained.
A conflict appeared.
Someone needed to become the difficult person.
Someone needed to become the reason things were falling apart.
“What did you say?”
“I asked him why he was worried about what you were doing.”
“And?”
“He changed the subject.”
Maya looked toward the bakery window.
“He does that.”
“I know.”
The sadness in Serena’s voice was different now.
Less confusion.
More disappointment.
“What happened?” Maya asked.
There was a long silence.
“I found something.”
Maya waited.
“His financial records.”
“How?”
“He left his laptop open.”
Maya frowned.
“Serena.”
“I know how it sounds.”
“It sounds like something you shouldn’t have had access to.”
“It was on our kitchen counter.”
Maya said nothing.
“I wasn’t searching.”
“I believe you.”
The answer came faster than she expected.
Serena went quiet.
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because people usually defend themselves less when they are guilty.”
Serena gave a small, sad laugh.
“That’s a terrible thing to say.”
“It is.”
“But?”
“But I learned it.”
Serena was quiet again.
“What did you find?”
“I don’t understand all of it.”
“That’s normal.”
“He has investors who are angry.”
“Okay.”
“He borrowed money against future contracts.”
Maya listened.
“He told me the company was growing.”
“Maybe it was.”
“That’s not the same as being healthy.”
Maya looked down.
No.
It wasn’t.
That was something she had learned during years of watching Bryce work.
He loved growth.
Numbers going up.
New clients.
New offices.
New achievements.
But maintenance bored him.
The slow work.
The boring work.
The part where success required admitting what was not working.
“Why didn’t he tell you?”
Serena laughed quietly.
“I asked him that.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he didn’t want to stress me before the wedding.”
Maya closed her eyes.
Another familiar sentence.
A sentence that sounded loving until you noticed what it really meant.
He had decided she could not handle the truth.
He had decided managing the information was his responsibility.
“I’m sorry,” Maya said.
Serena was quiet.
“Are you?”
Maya paused.
“Yes.”
“Even after everything?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
May you like
Because I know what it feels like to stand beside someone and slowly realize you only know the version of them they wanted you to know.
Maya did not say that.
