Chapter 9 - THE HOUSE RYAN COULDN’T AFFORD
By the second month without Sabrina’s support, Ryan fell behind.
Not immediately.
He had savings.
Then legal fees increased.
The separation became contested.
Vivian stopped providing as much childcare once Helen left because she had never intended to do the daily work herself.
That was one of the quietest revelations.
The woman who constantly criticized Helen’s caregiving had no interest in replacing her.
Ryan called Sabrina.
“No.”
He asked again.
“No.”
He asked for a loan.
“No.”
He asked whether she would at least cover Oliver’s private program.
Sabrina considered it.
Then paid the school directly for the final semester.
Not Ryan.
That distinction enraged him.
“You don’t trust me?”
“No.”
He hung up.
Three weeks later, he listed the house.
The listing photographs showed bright rooms.
Clean counters.
Fresh flowers.
No evidence that an exhausted seventy-year-old woman had spent more than a year keeping it functional.
The home sold.
Ryan moved into a townhouse closer to the children’s school.
His mortgage dropped nearly forty percent.
His life became less impressive.
It also became affordable.
For years he had told himself he needed Sabrina’s money.
May you like
He needed the lifestyle.
Those were not the same thing.
