Page 84 of The Wife

Our. I didn’t know who that was anymore.

“Congratulations.” It was an awkward response.

“I don’t want to get my hopes up, but this might actually be over. Maybe she blackmailed her boss and got enough money to start over somewhere new.”

“Without telling anyone?” Spencer hadn’t seemed worried about Kerry, but Jason obviously was. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He sounded sad. “I miss you, though. Spencer said he wanted to see me, so that’s good news.”

I was tracing the herringbone pattern of our oak floors with my big toe, wondering how much longer we’d have this amazing house.

“Do you want to come over for dinner? I can cook.”

“Really? I would love that.”

“That should be okay, right? It’s for you to see Spencer.”

“I think it’s perfectly normal for two separated coparents to meet for dinner with their son.”

“Good. We’ll be here.”

I went to Agata & Valentina and bought lamb chops, his favorite. On the way home, I called Susanna to cancel our plans to get takeout and watch the next two episodes ofBillions. We were binge-watching together. She was rooting for Axe, while I was on the side of the government.

“And this has nothing to do with that article in theLong Island Press?” she asked.

I couldn’t put anything past Susanna. “Jason’s coming over. For the record, Spencer’s the one who invited him. He hasn’t seen his father for more than two weeks. He seems ready to forgive him.”

“He’sready to forgive, or you are? Angela, please tell me you’re not rethinking this.”

“I told you, we already filled out all the paperwork and have a rough agreement sketched out. That lawyer’s crunching the numbers. You wanted me to protect myself and Spencer, and I am. We’re getting divorced. The house is for sale. And I haven’t forgotten what Jason did to me. But I never said I didn’t love him.”

While the lamb was roasting, I put on the pale-yellow linen dress that Jason had bought me last summer as my anniversary gift, hoping he’d recognize it.

He had told that woman—a horrible woman who had been willing to destroy his life and mine—that he would leave me for her. Maybe it was cruel, but I wanted to make him want me.

By the time he arrived for dinner, he had gotten another piece of good news: the district attorney’s office was dismissing the charges against him.

IV

Angela

54

Five Weeks Later

That day’s appointment with Dr. Boyle was a joint session, without Spencer. We all had individual sessions, in addition to our couples therapy, and the occasional joint family discussions. Basically, we had been living in Dr. Boyle’s office for the last month.

We were also living in two apartments in adjacent towers on Mercer Street. His two-bedroom was in 250 Mercer, mine in 300. Spencer had rooms in both.

Our most recent couples session had been spent going over finances. If all went according to plan, we’d close on the carriage house next week. Jason referred to the thirty-year-old buyer, who was paying cash with his hedge-fund money, as Satan. All I cared about was that, after a bidding war, he was paying $250,000 more than asking. We’d walk away with nearly $2 million in cash, after the mortgage and taxes.

To maximize the amount of money going to me, I was taking not only my half but also a lump-sum alimony payment, which meant I’d get almost all of the proceeds from the house. Our divorce decree also gave me half of Jason’s retirement account.

Now we were back here with Boyle again. “You’re about to end your marriage,” Dr. Boyle said. “How do you feel about that, Jason?”

“Terrible. Obviously. I know this is my fault. I never would have left you, Angela.”

I looked down at my lap to avoid crying. “I know.”

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