3: 3

3

Sixty thousand dollars was gone from the joint account.

I set the statement in front of Paul just as his meeting let out.

"Where did this money go?"

He barely glanced at it.

"I used it."

"Used it for what?"

"Sara's divorce lawyer needed a retainer, and she had a load of things with nowhere to store them. I covered her legal fees and storage costs for now."

He said it so easily, as if it weren't the balance owed on our wedding, just some cash he'd pulled out of his wallet.

"She's still living in our apartment."

"She'll leave once the paperwork's done."

"So you used our money to help her get divorced?"

"I'm trying to solve the problem fast." Paul pushed the statement back at me. "The sooner her situation's over, the sooner her life goes back to normal. Aren't you the one who's always minded her staying at the place?"

"Put my half back."

His brow furrowed.

"Fiona, can you stop fixating on money for once?"

"It's the balance for our wedding."

"The wedding isn't tomorrow. She's the one with no options right now."

"My mother had no options either, when she was stuck in a hotel after her surgery."

"Your mom has people to look after her. Sara's here on her own, and her ex won't stop hounding her."

Sara had been in the break room. Hearing her own name, she came out.

"Mr. James, I'll pay you back. I can figure something out myself."

Paul said at once, "This has nothing to do with you."

"The money was spent on her. How does it have nothing to do with her?"

"She already said she'd pay it back. What more do you want?" His voice rose. "You have to corner her when she's at her lowest?"

Sara lowered her head, eyes red.

Suddenly I didn't want to argue anymore.

He diverts our shared money, and it's helping someone.

I ask for my own money back, and it's nickel-and-diming.

In that version of things, there had never been a place for me to stand.

"Put it back before tonight." I picked up the statement. "Or my lawyer treats it as joint funds."

Paul shot to his feet.

"We're about to get married, and you're bringing a lawyer into it over sixty thousand dollars?"

"You took it first."

I left his office and went to pick up my mother from the hospital.

She'd been dizzy after her follow-up, and the doctor didn't want family letting her go home alone. Paul had promised the night before to drive over, but when the agreed time came, he never showed.

I called twice. Both times he hung up.

The third time, Sara answered.

"Miss Swanson, Mr. James is driving."

"Driving where?"

"Taking some things to storage for me."

When I got to the hospital, my mother was sitting on a plastic chair by the entrance, the bag of test results held against her chest.

When she saw me, she smiled first.

"The doctor was making a fuss over nothing. Sitting a while didn't hurt me."

She had waited forty minutes. Her lips were still a little pale.

I crouched down and buttoned her coat for her.

"Why didn't you call me again?"

"You were at work." She patted my hand. "Paul said he was coming, didn't he? Something probably came up."

The car was already out of the hospital lot when Paul finally called.

"Did you get your mom?"

"I did."

"Sara's documents can't get damp, and storage only held until five. I figured your mom could grab a car herself. Same thing, no?"

"She just had surgery."

"It was only a follow-up."

I gripped the wheel. Ahead, the light turned red.

"Paul, you promised her."

"I really couldn't get away today. You're already there, so don't keep hanging onto this."

Someone on his end called him over to sign something.

He said quickly, "We'll talk tonight."

I hung up.

My mother didn't ask what was wrong between us. She only held the bag of results a little tighter.

Back upstairs at the studio, I laid it all out together: the six-month lease, the moving company confirmation, and the wedding cancellation documents.

Then I resent the time for our parents to meet.

Paul replied fast.

【Have the budget sheet ready. I'll clear up the Sara situation once and for all too.】

I looked at it a long time, and in the end I sent back a single word.

【Fine.】

He thought tomorrow he'd be explaining sixty thousand dollars and a key.

4: 4

4

When both sets of parents had arrived, Paul was still asking me about the budget spreadsheet.

"Where did you put it?"

"I didn't make one."

He pulled me into the kitchen.

"Today is not the day for you to be difficult. I'll put the money back, and Sara will move out. Just apologize to her first. Don't make us look bad in front of both families."

"Why should I apologize?"

"The way you've treated her these last two days, you really don't know?"

I looked at the older relatives in the living room, already talking about the wedding.

"Weren't you the one who said you wanted to explain everything, once and for all?"

"Explaining doesn't mean throwing a fit in front of everyone." Paul kept his voice low. "Once we're married, I'll manage the boundaries."

"And the past four years?"

He stopped.

"That's all behind us."

"Behind you, sure."

The lock clicked at that moment.

Sara let herself in with a key, carrying fruit.

Everyone in the room looked over at her at once.

She was obviously nervous.

"Hello, everyone. Mr. James said we'd clear up the misunderstanding today, so I came over."

Paul took the things from her hands and told her to sit.

My mother recognized the coat she was wearing.

It was the same one worn by the person Paul had said he was driving to the storage unit on the day of her surgery.

Paul's father spoke first. "And who is this?"

"My subordinate, Sara. She's going through a divorce right now." Paul said. "Her old place wasn't safe, so she's staying here for the time being."

My mother slowly turned her head.

"Staying here?"

Sara said quickly, "It's only for a little while, ma'am. I'll leave once the paperwork is done."

"How long has it been?"

She didn't answer.

Paul answered for her.

"A few months, on and off. Not the whole time. Only when something came up."

My mother's face darkened by degrees.

"I came here for surgery, and Fiona booked me a hotel. She said your place wasn't set up for guests."

Paul's mother was stunned too.

"Paul, don't you hate having anyone in your apartment?"

"This is different," Paul said.

"Different how?"

"Sara's out here on her own, and the divorce has gotten ugly. I'm her boss. I can't just do nothing."

My mother pointed at the second hook by the door.

"Doing something means giving her a key to keep?"

Sara stood up.

"Ma'am, don't blame Mr. James. I had nowhere to go. I'll move out right now."

Paul gripped her arm.

"Sit down."

He turned to both sets of parents, his tone even firmer than before.

"I asked her here today so we could get everything out in the open. She'll stay here until the divorce paperwork is finished. Separate rooms. Nothing has crossed the line between us. And don't put any pressure on her, either."

"And the wedding?" I asked.

"The wedding goes on as planned. Don't mix the two things up."

"She's living in our home, using our wedding money, taking part in our wedding. How is that two things?"

The last scrap of patience left Paul's face.

"The legal fees were to get her moved out faster. The process is because she knows my work. I've explained all of it. What more do you want from me?"

"And my mother?"

"Doesn't your mother have someone looking after her?"

My mother stood up.

"So what you mean is, my daughter and I both have other arrangements, so we should go to the back of the line?"

"That's not what I meant, ma'am."

"Then what did you mean?"

Sara's tears fell.

"It's all my fault. Would it help if I just left?"

Paul pulled a tissue and handed it to her.

"It's not your fault."

Then he looked at me.

"Fiona, do you really have to blow this little thing up in front of the parents and humiliate her like this?"

The facts were already laid out for everyone to see.

I took the wedding cancellation confirmation out of my bag and set it on the coffee table.

"The wedding's already been cancelled."

Paul didn't catch up.

"What?"

"The planner, the hotel, the photographer, the wedding company. Whatever could be refunded has been. Whatever couldn't, each side covers under the contract."

He snatched up the confirmation and flipped straight to the last page.

"Who told you to cancel it?"

"Fiona Swanson, you——"

The doorbell rang.

The movers were outside, confirming the address.

Two of them came in and started with the sample cases in the study, then took apart the bookshelf and the sideboard I'd bought. My half of the closet had already been packed ahead of time, the sealing tape marked with numbers.

Paul blocked the bedroom doorway.

"When did you set this up?"

"Yesterday."

"You had it all ready?"

"Yes."

He looked at my mother, then at the cancellation confirmation on the table, and his voice finally broke apart.

"Let's talk. If you want Sara to move out, she can move out right now. I'll put the money back too. There's no need to go this far."

Sara stood in the middle of the living room, pale.

I handed him the joint account statement.

"My share, the furniture itemization, the lease responsibility. It's all written in there. My lawyer will be in touch with you."

"I'm not asking about money."

"But every time you made a choice, you never once asked what I wanted."

The last box was carried out.

I took the key off the first hook by the door and laid it on the statement.

"I'm off the lease at the end of the month. You can cover the whole rent yourself, or you can give up the place."

"Fiona."

Paul chased me to the elevator and, for the first time, reached out to pull me back.

I stepped to the side.

"Don't touch me."

His hand stopped in midair.

In the elevator, my mother took my hand.

As the doors closed, I saw Paul still standing there, the half-emptied apartment behind him.

This time, the one walking away was me.

My wedding. I wasn't going.

The one who had to figure out how to deal with everything had finally become him.