At 6:45, I heard his suitcase rolling across the hardwood floor. He stepped into the kitchen with an eager expression, the same one he used whenever he traveled somewhere exciting.
“You’re up early,” he said, adjusting his collar.
I gestured to the chair opposite mine. “Sit down. We need to talk.”
Suspicion flickered across his face, but he obeyed. When I slid the envelope toward him, he frowned, then opened it.
The color drained from his cheeks. He blinked rapidly. His mouth fell open without forming words.
“How did you… where did this come from”
“Does it matter” My voice was steady. Almost calm. “You carried on an affair with my sister. You planned a trip with her. And you were going to leave tomorrow.”
He ran a hand through his hair, panic slipping into his voice. “Andrea, listen, I can explain. It is not what it looks like.”
“Do not lie to me now,” I said. “Not after everything you wrote to her.”
He looked down. A long silence filled the kitchen. A silence that confirmed everything.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway. Parker stood in the doorway, watching. I shook my head slightly, telling him without words to stay where he was. This moment belonged to me alone.