"What did you do, Nico?"
He doesn't deny it. Doesn't even hesitate. "I handled it."
"Handled it." I laugh, but there's no humor in it. "That's what you're calling it?"
"He signed the papers." Nico says it like he's reporting the weather. Like this is just another item checked off his to-do list. "Full custody. No asset disputes. He's relocating to New York. You're free."
Free.
The word should taste like victory. Like finally escaping the nightmare I've been living for five years.
Instead, it tastes like ash.
"Why didn't you tell me?" My voice comes out steadier than I feel. "Why didn't you ask me?"
Nico's brow furrows. Just slightly. Like I've said something in a language he doesn't quite understand. "You wanted the divorce."
"Yes."
"You wanted him gone."
"Yes, but?—"
"So I made it happen." He spreads his hands, genuinely confused. "What's the problem?"
And there it is.
The gap between us, wider than I realized. He doesn't see it. Can't see it. To him, this is simple math. Kristen wanted X. Nico provided X. Problem solved.
"The problem," I say slowly, "is that you decided. Without me. About my life. My divorce. My custody battle."
"I was helping you."
"You were controlling me."
The word lands between us like a grenade.
Nico goes still. Completely.
"That's not—" He stops. Swallows. "I'm not him."
"I know you're not Jack." My chest aches with the truth of it. "But somewhere in all this protecting, you forgot to ask what I wanted."
"You wanted the divorce."
"I wanted to fight for it myself." My voice cracks. "I wanted to stand in front of a judge and prove I'm a good mother. I wanted to watch Jack's face when he realized he couldn't manipulate his way out anymore. I wanted—" I press my palm against my sternum, where everything hurts. "I wanted to win, Nico. Me. On my own terms."
Silence stretches between us.
Nico's jaw works. His hands flex at his sides. I can see him processing, trying to understand something that doesn't fit into his world of problems and solutions.
"You could have lost," he finally says. "Judges can be bought. Jack had Russian money behind him. If I hadn't?—"
"Then I would have lost." I cut him off. "And it would have been my loss. My fight. My choice."
His eyes flash. "You think I could watch that happen? Watch him take Lily from you?"
"I think you could have talked to me about it first."
