“Lauren—”
“Was Marissa there?”
He closed his eyes.
That answer was enough, but I waited.
“Yes,” he said.
“Were you leaving with her?”
“No.”
“Evan.”
He opened his eyes. “I don’t know.”
There was a strange mercy in that answer. It was ugly, but at least it was not polished.
“I was drunk,” he continued. “I was angry. Nick kept pushing things, and Marissa was… she made me feel seen.”
The words landed softly, then sank deep.
Seen.
I thought of all the nights I had waited up with dinner gone cold. All the mornings I had packed his lunch when he was too busy. All the résumés I had proofread, all the interviews I had encouraged him through, all the family events where I smiled while his friends treated me like furniture in his life.
“I saw you,” I said.
He looked at me.
“I saw all of you, Evan. The ambitious version, the insecure version, the version that needed applause after every small victory. I saw you when you couldn’t see yourself. You just stopped valuing the person who was always there.”
His eyes filled again.
“I didn’t mean what I said that night.”
“Yes, you did,” I said quietly. “Maybe not forever. Maybe not every day. But in that moment, you meant it enough to say it.”
He looked toward the ceiling. “I wanted you to fight for me.”
That nearly undid me. Not because it was romantic. Because it was childish in a way that made our whole marriage suddenly exhausting.
“You insulted me so I would audition for your approval?”
He flinched.
“I guess when you say it like that…”
“There is no other way to say it.”
He swallowed. “I messed up.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want to lose you.”
“You started losing me before tonight.”
A nurse pulled the curtain slightly aside. “Mrs. Mitchell, there are officers waiting to ask a few questions when you’re ready.”
Evan’s panic returned instantly.
“What officers?”
“The crash involved impaired driving,” the nurse said gently. “They’re speaking with everyone.”
After she left, Evan grabbed my wrist. Not hard, but desperate.
“Lauren, please. Don’t tell them anything Ryan said until I understand what happened.”
I looked down at his hand.
