It was a misconduct investigation.

And Daniel hadn’t just slept with his boss.

He had been fired alongside her.

I barely slept that night, but not for the reasons Daniel likely imagined.

He probably assumed I was upstairs crying into a pillow, devastated by the idea that he wanted someone else. The truth was colder than that. I lay awake doing calculations.

Mortgage balance.

Joint savings.

His severance, if any.

The amount in our emergency fund.

Which bills were autopaid through which cards.

How much of my consulting income had already been moved into the business account I opened six months earlier when Daniel said I was “too emotional” to be trusted with household finances.

That sentence stayed with me.

So did many others.

You wouldn’t understand the paperwork.

You overreact to everything.

Let me handle it.