Chapter 34
Simon
By the time the eighty-second day of the stipulation arrived, the atmosphere inside Dr. Thorne’s office had completely transformed.
The suffocating hostility that had defined their early sessions was gone.
In its place was a fragile, hard-won honesty.
Audrey no longer sat rigidly in the winged armchair bracing for an attack.
She sat comfortably, her legs crossed, holding a cup of herbal tea.
Across from her, Simon mirrored her relaxed posture.
"I noticed a shift this week," Dr. Thorne said, a warm, encouraging note in his voice. "Simon, when Audrey mentioned feeling overwhelmed with Lily’s school project on Tuesday, you didn't immediately try to fix it or take over. You just listened."
Simon offered a small, self-aware smile. "I'm trying to break the habit of managing her life. I realized that jumping in to 'save the day' was just another way of feeding my own ego. Audrey doesn't need a manager. She just needed me to hear her."
Audrey looked at him, the affection in her eyes undeniable. "It helped," she admitted softly. "For the first time in a long time, I felt like I had a partner again, instead of another assignment."
"Trust is earned in these quiet moments," Dr. Thorne observed, making a final note on his pad.
"You two have done incredible, grueling work over the past twelve weeks.
We only have two sessions left before the ninety days conclude.
I want you both to spend this week reflecting on what you want the next chapter to look like. "
When they left the clinic that afternoon, Simon walked Audrey to her car, lingering by the driver's side door just to be near her for an extra minute. The progress they were making felt miraculous, a beautiful thing he was determined to protect at all costs.
But the real world had a terrible habit of interrupting peace.
The next morning, Simon sat at the small desk in his parents' guest house, staring at his laptop screen. An email from David, his senior partner at Lumière, sat in his inbox, flagged with high importance.
It was a formal summons. After four months of working entirely remotely, delegating his accounts, and doing everything in his power to distance himself from the agency, a massive contractual dispute with a legacy client required the physical signatures and presence of all acting partners.
Simon dragged a hand down his face, a knot of dread tightening in his stomach.
He didn't want to go back there. He wanted to contact his lawyer, negotiate the sale of his shares, and walk away from Lumière entirely.
The agency was tied to the worst version of himself.
But legally, he had a fiduciary duty to sign the paperwork.
Reluctantly, Simon put on a dark suit for the first time in months and drove downtown.
The Lumière offices were exactly as sleek and pretentious as he remembered.
Walking through the glass double doors, Simon felt entirely detached from the space that used to be the center of his universe.
He ignored the surprised whispers of the junior staff and headed straight for the executive conference room.
The meeting with David and the client took two agonizing hours. Simon kept his input brief, professional, and entirely focused on getting the crisis resolved. As soon as the final contract was signed, he stood up, offered a polite handshake, and walked out.
He was halfway down the corridor, mentally drafting an email to his lawyer to begin the process of officially stepping down, when a voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Well. Look who decided to grace us with his presence."
Simon froze. He turned slowly, his blood turning to ice water in his veins.
Emily stood leaning against the doorframe of the breakroom. She was wearing a tailored, crimson dress that was clearly intentional, her arms crossed over her chest, a mocking, knowing smirk playing on her lips.
For a fraction of a second, Simon felt a violent, visceral wave of nausea wash over him. He didn't feel the old, pathetic thrill of validation. He just saw the walking, talking embodiment of the grenade he had thrown into his own home.
"Emily," Simon said, his voice flat, completely devoid of warmth. He didn't stop walking; he just altered his path to bypass her.
"Don't be like that, Si," she sighed, stepping out into the hallway to block his path. The smirk deepened as her eyes dragged slowly up and down his suit. "You've been playing the exiled, tragic husband for months now. You have to be exhausted. Don't you miss the thrill?"
She took a step closer, lowering her voice to that familiar, intimate register that used to feed his ego. "We always did have fun when the pressure was on."
Simon stared at her, profound disgust rolling through his chest. "Get out of my way."
Emily’s smirk faltered slightly at the genuine venom in his tone. "Oh, come on. You can't tell me you're actually going to spend the rest of your life groveling to a woman who clearly doesn't appreciate you. You deserve better than that."
"Do not ever speak about my wife again," Simon ordered, his voice dropping to a lethal, quiet growl. "You were a mistake, Emily. The worst, most pathetic mistake of my entire life. I am selling my shares, and I will never step foot in this building again. Move."
He didn't wait for her to step aside. He pushed past her shoulder, leaving her standing stunned in the hallway, and walked straight out to the elevators.
By the time he reached the parking garage, his hands were shaking with residual anger. He climbed into his car and immediately dialed his lawyer’s number, leaving a terse voicemail instructing him to draft the severance and buyout papers immediately. He was done.
He tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and started the engine. Just as he was pulling out of the garage, the screen lit up with a text message.
Audrey: Are you done with work? Can you come over to the house?
Simon stared at the message, the heavy, lingering disgust from the office instantly evaporating. A wide, genuine smile broke across his face. She was inviting him over on a Friday evening. No therapy, no Lily drop-off. Just an invitation.
I'm on my way, he typed back quickly.
The drive to the suburbs felt incredibly light. He practically jogged up the front walkway of the house, his heart hammering with a warm, desperate hope. He reached the door and rang the bell, running a hand through his hair to smooth it down.
The lock clicked, and the heavy oak door swung open.
Simon’s smile vanished instantly.
Audrey stood in the doorway, her arms wrapped tightly around her own waist. Her face was ashen, her lips trembling, and her dark eyes were bloodshot and swollen from crying. The fragile peace they had spent weeks building was entirely gone.
"Rey?" Simon choked out, his heart dropping into his stomach. Panic seized his throat. "What is it? What happened? Is Lily okay?"
"Lily is fine," Audrey whispered, her voice a hollow, shattered rasp. She stepped back, letting the door swing open wider.
"Then what's wrong?" Simon begged, stepping into the foyer, desperate to reach out and pull her into his arms, but the sheer devastation radiating from her kept him frozen in place.
Audrey looked up at him, a fresh tear spilling over her lashes.
"I received a new email, Simon."