He came to see his wife . #DramaAlert #DramaSeries #marriagelife

Nia came to Priya’s office that afternoon with a lawyer of her own.

His name was Daniel Cho. He said Nia wanted to cooperate in finding out how the apartment application had been submitted. Priya told him I wanted the same thing.

I sat across from Nia. She looked as if she had barely slept.

Daniel put the application on the table. “Did you authorize Vanessa to submit this?”

“I let her start it,” Nia said. “She told me I could review it before she sent anything.”

“Did you give her access to your email account?”

“Yes. She was helping me manage the apartment search.”

Daniel wrote that down.

Priya asked about the electronic signature. Nia said she had not applied it. She had been at Ava’s school meeting with a teacher at the time shown on the record.

I knew that meeting had happened. She had told me about it that evening.

We agreed that our lawyers would request the application history from the property manager. Daniel also said Nia would change her account passwords and tell Vanessa not to act for her again.

Then he asked if we wanted to discuss what Ava needed.

That was the only part of the meeting that made me feel steady. Nia and I agreed Ava would see the school counselor if she wanted, and that neither of us would speak to her about forged signatures or blame her for asking questions.

Outside the office, Nia caught up with me.

“I’ve ended things with Vanessa,” she said.

I stopped. I hadn’t asked.

“When?”

“This morning.”

I searched her face. “Because of the application?”

“Because I asked her why she sent it. She kept telling me you were the problem.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I made my own mistakes. She wouldn’t let me finish.”

Cars passed on the street beside us. I thought of the flowers I had left in our bedroom. Part of me still wanted Nia to tell me she had made it all up and we could go home together. I knew that was impossible.

“I’m sorry she betrayed your trust,” I said.

Nia nodded. “I betrayed yours first.”

We went to our separate cars.

Ava’s concert was on Saturday. I arrived early with Julian and found seats beside Denise. Nia came in just before the lights dimmed. There was an empty chair beside Denise, and she took it.

For the next hour, we watched Ava sing. She spotted us in the crowd and smiled so widely she nearly missed her cue.

Afterward, she ran to us in her paper star costume.

“You all came!”

“Of course,” I said.

Nia knelt to straighten the star on Ava’s shoulder. Denise took photographs. For a few minutes, we were all focused on the same happy thing.

Then Ava asked whether we could get ice cream together.

Nia looked at me. I thought about how awkward it might be and how little Ava was asking.

“Yes,” I said.

We sat at a small table outside the shop. Ava told us which part of the concert had made her nervous. Nia told her she had done beautifully. I told her I had nearly cried when she waved at us from the stage.

“You did cry,” Julian said.

Ava laughed. I didn’t argue.

That night, I received a message from an unknown number. It was Vanessa.

Nia had plans long before I helped her. Ask her why she needed you to leave the house.

I showed the message to Priya. She told me not to engage with Vanessa. Then I called Nia.

“Did you ask me to move out because of her?” I asked.

There was a long silence.

“I needed space because I was unhappy with us,” she said. “Vanessa was part of it. I should have told you.”

“Did she move into the house?”

“No. She came over after Ava went to Denise’s.”

I remembered arriving with flowers and finding them on our bed.

“I can’t keep learning about my marriage from Vanessa’s messages.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Is there anything else I need to hear from you?”

Nia hesitated. Then she said, “I used money from our joint savings for the Westbridge apartment deposit.”

“How much?”

“Two thousand dollars.”

I sat down. “When?”

“Last week. I’m arranging to put it back.”

That account was meant for emergencies and Ava’s needs. Nia had a right to use joint money, but she had hidden the payment while telling me she had not yet decided whether to move.

“I need the statement,” I said.

“I’ll send it.”

She did. The payment was there, along with a smaller one to a moving company. I sent the records to Priya and lay awake thinking about how carefully Nia and Vanessa had planned the move.

Two days later, the property manager sent the application history. The electronic signature had been entered from Vanessa’s work computer. Mr. Price also confirmed that the deposit was refundable because the application had been withdrawn before a lease was signed.

There was proof now. Vanessa could no longer claim she had merely prepared a draft.

I expected to feel satisfied. Instead, I felt tired.

Then Denise called.

Ava had asked her why Mom was crying in the bathroom and whether Dad was angry with her. She was listening at doors again, trying to understand a problem we thought we had kept from her.

I drove to Denise’s. Ava was sitting at the kitchen table drawing a house with three windows. She looked up when I came in.

“Did I make everyone upset?” she asked.

I pulled out the chair beside her.