Chương 5
I looked at the envelope.
Then pushed it back.
“Take it.”
His expression hardened.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“Maybe.”
I turned away.
“But at least it’s mine.”
He left without another word.
Ten minutes later, Adrian appeared in the doorway.
I wondered if he had somehow timed it.
Then I noticed the look on his face.
Something had happened.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I almost answered yes.
The old habit returned.
The automatic lie.
Then I stopped.
“No.”
Adrian nodded.
It was a simple reaction.
No fixing.
No advice.
No pretending.
Just acknowledgment.
“Good answer.”
I looked at him.
“That’s a strange thing to say.”
“Most people say they’re fine when they’re clearly not.”
“Are you most people?”
“No.”
The corner of his mouth moved slightly.
“I’m usually worse.”
For the first time since yesterday, I laughed.
It was small.
Barely there.
But real.
Adrian noticed and looked away like he did not want to make it obvious.
That somehow made it easier.
He walked in carrying a paper bag.
“What is that?”
“Breakfast.”
“I can’t accept food from strangers.”
“You accepted an ambulance ride.”
“That was different.”
“Why?”
“Because I was unconscious enough not to argue.”
A quiet smile appeared on his face.
“Then consider this your chance to argue while awake.”
I looked at the bag.
“What is it?”
“Oatmeal.”
“That’s disappointing.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry?”
“I expected billionaire food.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Something ridiculous.”
“I had oatmeal this morning.”
“See?”
“What?”
“Exactly what I mean.”
He looked genuinely confused.
I shook my head.
For a few minutes, we talked about nothing important.
The hospital coffee.
The terrible chairs.
The fact that every hallway smelled the same.
It felt strange.
Almost normal.
Then Adrian’s phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
The change in his expression was immediate.
Not fear.
Not surprise.
Concern.
He stepped toward the window.
“Who is it?” I asked.
He hesitated.
That hesitation told me enough.
“Someone connected to Ethan?”
His eyes returned to mine.
“Yes.”
The room felt colder.
“What did you find?”
Adrian did not answer immediately.
And for the first time since I met him, I saw uncertainty on his face.
“Claire.”
His voice was quieter.
“There’s something you need to know about why Ethan wanted you out of that house so quickly.”
Adrian placed the phone on the table and pulled the chair closer.
“I need to be careful about what I say until I know more.”
I watched him closely.
“You already know something.”
He looked down at his hands.
It was the first time I noticed the small scar across his right knuckle.
A tiny detail.
Something ordinary.
Something that did not belong to the image people had created of him.
“I know Ethan moved quickly because he was afraid of something,” Adrian said.
“Afraid of what?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“That sounds like a convenient answer.”
His eyes lifted.
“I’m not used to people trusting me.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“No.”
A pause filled the room.
“But you’re right to question me.”
That answer bothered me more than an argument would have.
People like Ethan always defended themselves.
They built walls.
They explained.
They redirected.
Adrian simply admitted uncertainty.
I did not know what to do with that.
“What did you find?” I asked again.
He reached into his coat and pulled out his phone.
“There were unusual transactions connected to the company accounts.”
“My husband’s company?”
“Yes.”
“Ethan has hundreds of accounts.”
“Not like this.”
He turned the screen toward me.
There were numbers and dates I did not understand.
I looked at the information without knowing what I was supposed to see.
“What am I looking at?”
“Payments moved through a subsidiary company.”
“That sounds like something accountants argue about.”
“It would be.”
He locked the phone.
“Except the subsidiary was created three months ago.”
I frowned.
“Why does that matter?”
“Because it was created shortly after you signed the documents giving Ethan control over certain marital assets.”
I felt something cold move through my chest.
“What assets?”
“Claire.”
His voice changed.
Not softer.
More careful.
“Did you read every page of the agreement you signed when you married?”
The question embarrassed me because I already knew the answer.
“No.”
Ethan had handled most of it.
There had been lawyers.
Meetings.
Documents stacked on tables.
He told me it was normal.
He told me couples trusted each other.
I had been twenty-three and in love.
I had thought trust meant not checking.
Adrian noticed my silence.
“That doesn’t mean you did anything wrong.”
I looked away.
“I should have known.”
“You should have had someone explain it to you.”
I swallowed.
The difference between those two sentences mattered.
For years, Ethan had made me feel careless for not understanding things he never wanted me to understand.
“What does the agreement say?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“You looked into my finances without asking.”
“Yes.”
“And now you’re telling me you don’t know?”
“Yes.”
The honesty was almost frustrating.
I crossed my arms.
“You’re terrible at making yourself look trustworthy.”
“I’ve been told.”
“By who?”
“Most people.”
Despite myself, I smiled slightly.
Then the smile disappeared.
“What happens if you’re right?”
Adrian looked toward the hallway.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not helpful.”
“No.”
He leaned forward.
“But I know one thing.”
“What?”
“Ethan was not trying to remove you from that house because he wanted a cleaner breakup.”
The room became quiet.
“He was trying to get you away before someone else noticed what was happening.”
A nurse entered before I could respond.
She checked the monitors and looked at both of us.
“Everything okay?”
I looked at Adrian.
He looked at me.
Neither of us answered immediately.
The nurse raised an eyebrow.
“That usually means no.”
“Just a difficult conversation,” I said.
She nodded.
“Those are common here.”
After she left, I stared at the door.
The hospital suddenly felt smaller.
May you like
Like every wall had moved closer.
“Who else knows?”
