Chapter 65

Emma lay in the guest bedroom, staring at the ceiling at 2 AM. Alek was in their room, and neither had spoken since their fight six hours ago. Her phone buzzed with another text from Lisa about the Netflix deadline, but Emma couldn’t bring herself to care.

She’d ruined everything. Alek’s career, their marriage, their future. All because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

A soft knock on the door interrupted her spiral of self-pity.

“Emma?” Katie’s voice was gentle. “Can I come in?”

Emma sat up as Katie slipped into the room, carrying two cups of tea.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” Katie asked, settling on the bed.

“Did we wake the kids with our fighting?”

“No, they’re fine. But you two aren’t.” Katie handed her a cup. “Want to talk about it?”

Emma found herself spilling everything - the board call, her outburst, Alek’s anger, the impossible choices ahead.

“He’s right,” Emma finished miserably. “I tried to help and made everything worse.