“What did she know?”
“My mother is dramatic.”
I almost smiled.
“You two really do use the same vocabulary.”
Melissa glared.
“She knew Adrian contacted me.”
“How?”
“I told her.”
“When?”
“Months ago.”
“And what did she say?”
Melissa did not answer.
I walked toward my phone.
“I can ask her.”
“Don’t.”
That single word came out too quickly.
I turned.
“Why?”
“Because she’s already made this worse.”
“How?”
Melissa pressed both palms against the island.
“She found out I was seeing him.”
“How?”
“She saw us.”
“Where?”
“At her house.”
I stared.
“You brought Adrian to your mother’s house?”
“No.”
“He came there.”
“Why?”
“I was visiting her. He called. We met nearby. Then he drove me back.”
“Your mother saw you together.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“About a month ago.”
“What did she say?”
Melissa laughed bitterly.
“She lost her mind.”
I waited.
“She told me I was repeating the worst mistake of my life.”
“What mistake?”
“Adrian.”
“She begged me to stop.”
“And you didn’t.”
“No.”
“Did she threaten to tell me?”
Melissa looked away.
“Yes.”
Now the phone call made complete sense.
Elaine had almost done it.
Then guilt, fear, loyalty to her daughter, or some combination stopped her.
“She called me instead.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she called me afterward and cried for an hour.”
That surprised me.
“She called you after?”
“Yes.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That she had ruined everything.”
I stared.
“You blamed your mother?”
“She had no right to interfere in my marriage.”
I looked at Melissa for several seconds.
Then I said quietly:
“You’re sleeping with your first husband, lying to your second husband, and your mother is the one interfering in your marriage.”
Her face collapsed.
She sat down.
For the first time, the anger disappeared.
What remained was exhaustion.
“I didn’t plan this.”
“I believe you.”
She looked up.
That surprised her.
“I believe you didn’t wake up eight months ago and plan to destroy our marriage.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Then please—”
“But you made a decision every time there was a chance to stop.”
Her mouth closed.
“When Adrian messaged you.”
“A decision.”
“When you answered.”
“Another.”
“When you met him without telling me.”
“Another.”
“When you created a secret email.”
“Another.”
“When you booked a hotel.”
“Another.”