Chapter 2: The Name on the Screen
His smile didn't move.
But his eyes did.
"A condition," he repeated slowly.
"Okay.
What is it?"
I kept my voice very calm.
"If this marriage is open," I said, "then everything inside it gets divided equally.
Right now.
Not later.
Now."
He laughed a little.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the house gets split.
The accounts get split.
The schedule gets split." I set my glass down.
"You want freedom?
Then you carry exactly half of what I've been carrying.
Every single day.
Starting this week."
The smile finally faded.
"That's not what I—"
"Bedtime is every other night," I said.
"School pickups, split.
Meals, split.
Laundry, split.
Doctor appointments, split.
If you're free, then so am I."
He stared at me.
"You're not serious."
"I'm completely serious." I leaned back in my chair.
"You said this was supposed to help me.
So let's make it fair."
The color had drained from his face.
He opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Then his phone buzzed on the table between us.
He reached for it fast.
Too fast.
May you like
I saw the name on the screen before he flipped it over.
And everything I thought I understood about that night changed completely.
