My husband forgot to hang up, believing the call had ended — the moment I heard what he truly thought of me, I planned a little surprise he would never forget.

Now I heard something else:

Dependence.

He was planning a life without me while encouraging me to build one with fewer exits.

“I’ll think about it,” I said.

After he fell asleep, I opened my laptop.

I might’ve heard love in that.

My manager had emailed to confirm whether I was returning on schedule.

For weeks, I’d told myself I’d answer after Elon and I talked.

I typed:

“Yes, I’m still planning to return.”

I deleted it once.

Then I typed it again and pressed Send.

The next morning, my manager called.

“We’re glad you’re coming back, Madeline. We’ve missed you.”

After we confirmed my return date, I sat beside Sophie and let those words settle.

“Apparently I’m still me,” I told her.

Then I got to work.

“We’re glad you’re coming back, Madeline.”

I pulled out the folder with my leave documents, insurance information, and household bills. Near the bottom was our prenup.