At her family barbecue, Nicole laughed in front of…

She went quiet then, biting her lip, eyes darting between me and the floor. I could tell she was starting to realize this was not one of our usual fights, the kind where she cried, I comforted her, and we both pretended nothing happened. No.

This was something else. Something final. I walked to the bookshelf, pulled out a folder, and set it on the table.

“What’s that?” she asked warily. “Documentation,” I said. “Financial records, bank statements, proof of every bill I paid, every loan I covered, every dime I invested in this marriage.”

Her voice went sharp.

“Why would you even have that?”

“Because I’ve been preparing for this. You think I didn’t see it coming? The way you talked, the way you acted, it was only a matter of time.”

She looked stunned.

“You were planning to leave me.”

“No,” I said. “I was preparing for the day you made it impossible to stay.”