“It’s always about her. Three months. Three months since you told me, and you’ve already moved her into a condo two blocks from our daughter’s school. You introduced Chloe to her last weekend, didn’t you?”

End of Part 1

Finally, she types: The offer is ready. When can you come by?

The heartburn spikes. Rachael presses harder against her chest, but it’s not just acid now. It’s grief. It’s rage. It’s the feeling of her own life dissolving like aspirin in water.

Silence. A clock ticks somewhere in the hall.

“I talked to the real estate agent. The offer on the lake house—”

(quietly) “It’s not about her.”