Chapter 3 - The Documents He Expected Her to Sign
Ethan arrived at Sophie’s apartment at noon carrying flowers.
He had never brought flowers there before.
Sophie opened the door and looked at the bouquet.
“Claire knows you’re coming?”
“She’s my wife.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
Claire heard them from the kitchen.
“It’s all right,” she called. “Let him in.”
Ethan entered wearing the expression he used when dealing with an employee who had created an avoidable inconvenience.
Then he saw Claire sitting at the table in borrowed pajamas.
His face softened.
“You look exhausted.”
“I slept well.”
He placed the flowers on the counter.
“Can we have a minute?”
Sophie looked at Claire.
“I’ll be in the living room,” Claire said.
They sat opposite each other without touching.
Ethan glanced around the apartment.
“Have you told her everything?”
“What is everything?”
He exhaled.
“Whatever you think happened last night.”
Claire looked at him.
“Did you leave with Vanessa?”
“We had work to finish.”
“Where?”
He paused.
“This is beneath us.”
“No,” Claire said. “It’s unpleasant. That isn’t the same thing.”
He leaned forward.
“Vanessa and I have become close. I should have handled the boundaries better.”
The words sounded rehearsed.
Professional.
Almost bloodless.
“Are you having an affair?”
Silence.
Then he looked away.
“Yes.”
Claire had known.
Hearing it still hurt.
She let the pain exist without rescuing him from the silence that followed.
“How long?”
“A few months.”
“Four?”
“Approximately.”
She nodded once.
Ethan reached across the space between them.
She moved her hand.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“What are you sorry for?”
His forehead tightened.
“Claire.”
“I need to know whether you understand.”
“I hurt you.”
“Yes.”
“And I’ve been distracted.”
“Yes.”
“But this doesn’t have to define us.”
She studied him.
He was already on the other side of the confession, looking for a bridge that would carry him away from its consequences.
“I’m staying here for now,” she said.
“Until when?”
“I haven’t decided.”
“The nursery is at home.”
“The baby isn’t due for several weeks.”
“And if she comes early?”
“I have a hospital and people who answer their phones.”
His mouth tightened.
“That was unnecessary.”
Claire nearly laughed.
She was beginning to see how frequently he used that word when someone said something he disliked but could not deny.
Ethan opened the leather folder he had brought.
“There’s also something we need to handle before Tuesday.”
He slid two documents onto the coffee table.
The first was a transaction consent Northstar’s counsel had already asked Claire not to sign until certain questions were resolved.
The second was a personal acknowledgment concerning potential conflicts.
Claire picked up neither.
“Why are you bringing these to me?”
“To simplify things.”
“My lawyer has them.”
“They’re standard.”
“Then your lawyer can speak to mine.”
He gave her a patient smile.
“You don’t need to make a complicated process more expensive.”
For a moment, she saw how Tuesday might have gone if she had remained the wife he believed her to be.
He would have placed the papers beside her breakfast.
She would have trusted his explanation.
Her signature would have become another detail handled quietly.
“What does Aster Advisory do?” she asked.
Ethan’s smile vanished.
“What?”
“The integration consultant. What do they do that Northstar’s existing teams can’t?”
He sat back.
“That’s confidential.”
“It’s in a transaction involving a company I own part of.”
“You own a minority stake.”
“And I’m asking a minority shareholder’s question.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Has Mara been talking to you?”
“Northstar’s counsel has.”
There was a flicker of concern.
He covered it quickly.
“People get nervous before major deals. They start looking for problems.”
“Sometimes they find them.”
Ethan stood.
“So now this is about the acquisition?”
“No. Our marriage is about your affair. The acquisition is about the acquisition.”
“You don’t get to pretend those things aren’t connected.”
“I’m not pretending anything.”
He looked toward the kitchen, where Sophie was making no effort to disguise that she remained nearby.
Then he gathered the unsigned papers.
“We should talk when you’re less emotional.”
Claire rested her hand over the baby.
“We can talk when you’re ready to answer questions.”
After he left, Sophie came into the room.
“Do you want me to throw away the flowers?”
Claire looked at them.
“No. Give them to Mrs. Alvarez upstairs. She loves roses.”
“And the vase?”
“There isn’t one.”
Sophie examined the bouquet.
“Of course there isn’t.”
Claire laughed unexpectedly.
Then she cried.
Her sister sat beside her until both had passed.
That evening, Claire emailed counsel a factual account of the visit and the documents Ethan had brought.
She did not call him.
May you like
She did not sign.
For once, the silence left something unfinished for him.
