Corinne had sent copies to Trent’s business partner, Gregory, a week earlier. Gregory owned forty percent of the construction company and had no idea company money was paying for a Spanish vacation. He hired a forensic accountant the same day. The total came to nearly sixty-three thousand dollars. Gregory gave Trent a choice: repay every cent personally or face a lawsuit and an IRS report. Trent repaid it by selling his Range Rover and his boat.
Paige left before sunset. She took a rideshare from the curb with her luxury suitcase, and by the next morning she had deleted every photo from Ibiza. Trent stood in the driveway calling after her. She later told Corinne she had believed Trent was separated and that the trip was a paid work assignment. Her lawyer advised her to cooperate fully, and she did, handing over every text he had sent her.
The divorce took six months. Because my mother’s inheritance had funded both the company’s start and our home’s down payment, and because Trent had spent marital money on his affair, the judge awarded me the house and a large share of his business interest. Corinne called it the easiest case of her year. Trent moved into a rented condo in Mesa. Maddie chose to live with me. She sees her father on Sundays, when he remembers to show up.
I finished the hotel in Prescott that spring, and three more clients called before it opened. Maddie designed the lighting in the lobby. Nathan and I had our first real dinner in June, and he still asks how I take my coffee. The picture above the fireplace is different now. It’s Maddie and me on the hotel’s opening night, laughing at something outside the frame. My mother would have loved it. Nobody in this house has to adapt anymore.
