As if that were somehow relevant.
Then blame.
You haven't been present in this marriage for a long time either.
There it was again.
Relocation of responsibility.
By the tenth message, anger finally arrived.
You embarrassed me in front of an entire first-class cabin.
I read that sentence three times.
Then I took a screenshot and sent it to Monica.
She responded with one message.
Do not reply.
I didn't.
At 10:43 p.m., an unfamiliar number texted me.
This is Ashley. I understand if you don't want to hear from me. I left the resort. I'm staying near the airport tonight and flying home tomorrow. I am sorry.
He lied to me, but I also accepted things I should have questioned. If you ever want the messages, I will give them to you.
I stared at the screen.
Part of me wanted to throw the phone across the room.
Another part understood immediately why those messages might matter.
I typed three words.
Save everything. Please.
Her response came almost instantly.
I will.
Then I turned my phone facedown.
For the first time all day, I slept.
Not well.
But enough.
The next morning, Cancun was bright, humid, and offensively cheerful.
Tourists filled the hotel lobby in swimsuits, sandals, and resort bracelets. Somewhere outside, music played beside a pool. My crew had a twenty-eight-hour layover before our return flight, which meant I had an entire day in a place people saved money for months to visit and no desire to see any of it.
At 8:00 a.m., Monica sent me the name of an attorney in Dallas: Rebecca Sloan, family law, twenty-two years of experience.
At 8:17, I emailed her office requesting a consultation when I returned.
Then I opened our financial accounts.
I did not move money.
I did not empty accounts, cancel cards, or do anything dramatic that a lawyer might later have to explain on my behalf. I had spent nine years working in an industry where documentation mattered. So I documented.
I downloaded statements.
Checking. Savings. Joint credit cards. Our home equity line. The account Ryan used for household expenses. The statements I had mostly stopped reviewing because he handled more of the finances after his company became successful.
That was my second mistake.
Not trusting him.
Delegating without verifying.
The affair was visible everywhere once I knew what I was looking for.
Restaurants on nights he said he had client dinners. A jewelry store charge for $1,860 three months earlier. Hotel charges in Dallas on days he supposedly drove to Fort Worth and came home late. A resort deposit in Cancun. Two first-class tickets.
Some expenses were on our personal card.