My fingers went cold.
The woman said something too quietly for me to catch.
Then Elon answered.
“No, Sierra. She doesn’t suspect anything.”
Sierra.
At least the woman had a name now.
“She’s too busy with the baby. Everything is about the baby.”
“And you?” Sierra asked.
“What about me?”
“You keep saying you’ll leave.”
A pause.
Then his voice softened.
“I will.”
“Promise?”
“Of course. I told you, I want to be with you.”
Sophie shifted in my arms.
I bounced her automatically.
Then Elon said, “I barely touch her anymore. I can’t stand being around her half the time.”
“I told you, I want to be with you.”
My mouth went dry.
Sierra murmured something.
Elon laughed again.
“Of course I hate her.”
I stared at my daughter.
Her eyes had closed.
“I’ll divorce her,” he said. “Then I’ll marry you.”
A kissing sound came through the speaker.
My hand finally moved.
I ended the call.
For a few seconds, I stared at the dark screen.
“I’ll divorce her.”
Then Sophie made a hungry little noise.
I picked up her bottle and tightened the lid twice.
It was already closed.
“Sorry, baby.”
My voice barely worked.
I fed her.
I didn’t call Elon back.
That was the first decision I made for myself.
Two hours later, the front door opened.
“Maddie?”
I wiped under my eyes and walked into the kitchen.
Elon stood there holding grocery-store daisies and a box of chocolate.
“For my favorite girls.”
I looked at the flowers, then him.
“Thank you.”
He kissed my forehead.
“Missed you two.”
The lie came so easily that something inside me went still.
“Long day?” I asked.
“Brutal. Back-to-back meetings.”
“Did you even eat?”
“Barely.”
He loosened his tie and walked toward Sophie’s bassinet.
The moment he saw her, his face changed.
“There’s my girl.”
Sophie curled her fingers around one of his.
He smiled.
A real smile.
That hurt in a different way.
I wanted him to become simple:
Cheater, liar, bad husband.
But Sophie knew his voice. He loved making her kick her feet.
He could betray me and still love her.
I had to live with both truths.
The next evening, Elon sat on the edge of our bed while I folded Sophie’s laundry.
