Wendy Hunter Leo Vincent

Riverside house listed.Money lost."Why rush?""Cshmere blanket." Stomach pain.He guarded the master bedroom. "Carissa's silk.Your perfume.Her insomnia.Couch." Six months furnishing.Now freezer cold.Silence.Couch. mrtgage release confirmed. Woke.No meds.Door locked.Rain sounds.Sign:Do Not Disturb. Hot water.For her.My stomach medicine expired.Hers sorted by dosage. …… "Our marriage home.""She's sick.Petty." Second bedroom.Her yoga mat.Her easel.My wedding favors buried. Bank app.balAnce.Pnalty."Grow up.Stop fighting over a bed." Seven stores I visited for that bed.Done fighting. SElling the house.SElling the marriage.Gone. I propped myself up off the couch.Cold sweat. Light leaked from the master bedroom—white noise,rain sounds Carissa needed to sleep. Sign on the door:Sleeping.Do Not Disturb.New sign.Never bught it. Door locked from inside. Craig's voice from the study."Jennifer,leave the door alone." He stood in pajamas.Holding hot water.Didn't hand it to me. Set it outside the master bedroom."Carissa likes warm water when she wakes." "Where's my stomach medicine?""I'll buy some tomorrow." My stomach medicine expired three months ago. Carissa's sleep aids sorted into compartments.Each marked with date and dosage. Craig pressed a hand on the medicine box."Don't mess with her medicine." "When did she move it here?""Just out of the hospital.Needs stability." "This is our marriage home.""Do you have to be this petty? She's only staying a few nights." Second bedroom.Carissa's easel.Her yoga mat.Wedding favors piled inside. "The second bedroom too?""Painting steadies her moods." Couch.BAnking app.LoAN balAnce.Early-repAyment rules.Pnalty fEes. Craig stood beside me."What are you fussing about now?" "Checking the acounts." "Grow up.Carissa's sick,you're healthy—stop fighting over a bed." Fighting over a bed.Six months I'd spent.Building-supply mArkets. Carpentry.Plumbing.Wiring.Furnishings.That bed—seven stores. Purchase contract.Titleholder:Jennifer Fox.BorrowER:Jennifer Fox. Down pAyment records in my cloud.Renovation contract too. Craig's face changed."What are you digging through all that for?" Locked the screen.Messaged my agent."Can we get this place on the mArket fast?" "You can really part with it?""I can." Next morning.Fridge.My coffee beans gone.My yogurt gone. Row of oat milk.Sticky note:Carissa:no caffeine,no cold drinks,no sugar. Craig's handwriting. He brought porridge."Keep it light.Carissa can't handle strong smells." Last night my stomach was killing me.He never asked. Now he remembered she couldn't stand smells."I'm not eating." "Throwing a fit over breakfast?""Save it for soothing her." "Don't be so ugly about it." Walk-in closet.Carissa's coat.Nightgown.Shawl in the main wardrobe. My gown bag on the balcony.Grimy with dust. "It makes her anxious to have things out." "And my gown on the balcony doesn't make me anxious?" "You have to compete with a sick woman?" Phone buzzed.Cecily in the family chat. "Craig,how did Carissa sleep?Don't let Jennifer into the master bedroom." Craig replied:"Don't worry.Handled." Cecily:"Jennifer's capable.A few days won't hurt her. After the wedding we're all family." No one asked where I slept.No one asked if my stomach stopped hurting. Screenshotted it."What are you taking screenshots for?""A keepsake." He reached for my phone.I stepped back."Don't touch it." Half day.Exported down pAyment records.mrtgage deductions. Renovation invoics.Maintenance fEes.Appliance orders.Furnishing lists. Craig's actual mrtgage contribution—a few scattered transfers. Among furniture,only the TV and dining table went through his card. Messaged Meryl."Help me look into pre-marital prperty settlemnt." "You finally woke up?""Run the numbers." "House in your name.Evidence in order.Don't go soft." Craig came home at noon.Warm water. "This weekend I'll take you to look at rings." Carissa's temperature label still stuck to the bottom.113 degrees.I didn't take it. His phone buzzed.Carissa."Craig,the blanket's damp.I can't sleep." He grabbed his keys."I'll find a dry cleaner.""What about the ring?" "That's not urgent." Submitted the early-repAyment appointment.Confirmation popped up.Tapped confirm. He nursed a blanket.I dismantled a marriage home. Menu tasting.Booked two weeks ahead. His parents'dietary restrictions noted three times. Before we left,Carissa called.Too scared to go to her psych follow-up alone. "You go ahead.I'll take her and catch up.""Fine." "Jennifer,I knew you'd understand." Hotel manager brought the seating chart.Extra name beside the head table. Carissa Henson.Away from speakers.Away from lights.Close to the lounge. So Mr.Gilbert could keep an eye on her. "Who changed this?""Mr.Gilbert called last night." I set the pen down."The head table is for the bride's and groom's parents." "Mr.Gilbert said Miss Henson's situation is special." Half an hour later.Craig arrived.Carissa trailed behind him. Cshmere blanket draped over her.Medical records in her hand. "Jennifer,should I not have come?" I looked at her.Then at him.Then at the seating chart with her name on it. Then I stood up. "No.Stay.You've already taken the master bedroom,the second bedroom, the fridge,the closet,and my fiancé.What's one more chair?" The room went silent.Craig stepped forward."Jennifer—" I picked up my bag.Walked past him.Past her. Past the table set for a wedding that was never mine. The house is already on the mArket.The mrtgage release is confirmed. And the pre-marital prperty settlemnt Meryl just sent over? It's waiting for my signature. Craig thinks I'm throwing a fit over a chair. He has no idea I just sOld the one he's sitting on.