Chapter 4 - The Door Opened on a Different Marriage
Derek returned with Suzanne just after four.
He pushed open the apartment door with the same aggressive confidence he had used that morning. Suzanne stood behind him in a champagne satin dress, heels clicking on the hallway tile, one hand already half-raised as if she expected to point at things she planned to take.
Then both of them stopped.
Skylar stood barefoot in the living room with the medical report folder held against her chest. Two police officers stood behind her, calm and watchful. Boxes sat open near the couch. The broken white mug remained on the floor beside a dark coffee stain Skylar had deliberately left untouched.
Derek looked at the officers, then at Skylar.
“What is this?”
“A report,” she said.
His gaze dropped to the folder, then the mug, then the officers. His face tightened as he realized the morning no longer belonged only to his version of it.
Suzanne’s smile faded.
Derek stepped forward. “Skylar, don’t be dramatic.”
The older officer raised one hand.
“Stay where you are.”
Derek stopped mid-step. The interruption seemed to offend him more than the accusation.
“This is my home,” he said.
Skylar looked at him quietly. “No, Derek. It isn’t.”
Suzanne glanced toward the boxes. “What are you doing with the bags?”
“My bags.”
“You can’t just take everything.”
Skylar lowered the folder enough to reveal her wedding ring resting on top of the apartment deed. She removed the ring with one slow motion and placed it on the small entry table.
Derek stared at it.
“You told me to leave,” Skylar said. “So I’m taking what’s mine.”
May you like
The officer looked at Derek. “She is retrieving personal property and documents. You will not interfere.”
For the first time since Skylar had known him, Derek was standing in a room where his anger did not control the outcome.
