Chapter 5 - SUNDAY DINNER WITHOUT THE OBEDIENT WIFE
Every Sunday at six o’clock, the Sterling family ate dinner together.
Attendance was technically optional.
So are most things until wealthy families turn them into traditions.
The invitation came through Amelia.
Amelia: Mom wants everyone at dinner Sunday.
Me: Everyone no longer includes me.
Amelia: She specifically means you.
Me: Definitely no.
Amelia: She says this should be resolved privately.
Me: Tell her I tried private. Logan took it to the airport.
Amelia sent a laughing emoji.
Then:
Amelia: I think you should come.
That surprised me.
Me: Why?
Amelia: Because Logan is telling Dad a very different version.
That got my attention.
Not because I needed Bennett Sterling to approve my divorce.
But because anything Logan was saying privately might reveal how he intended to defend himself professionally.
Natalie hated the idea.
Then hated it slightly less when I told her Amelia had offered to remain beside me the entire evening.
“No agreements,” Natalie said.
“Agreed.”
“No signing anything.”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“No alcohol.”
“That’s insulting.”
“Valeria.”
“Fine.”
“No discussing settlement numbers.”
“Fine.”
“And if you feel unsafe, leave.”
“I will.”
The Sterling townhouse on East 79th Street looked exactly as it had before our wedding.
White roses.
Marble floors.
Museum-level artwork.
A house designed to remind visitors that the people inside had been important for a very long time.
A member of staff took my coat.
I entered the sitting room.
Evelyn stood by the fireplace.
Bennett sat in an armchair.
Amelia occupied one corner of the sofa.
Logan stood near the bar.
And Chloe Parker sat beside him.
I stopped.
Of course she did.
Cream cashmere.
Perfect hair.
The expression of someone trying to appear sympathetic while attending a disaster she secretly considered interesting.
“You invited Chloe?” I asked.
Evelyn answered.
“She’s family.”
I almost smiled.
“Then this should be educational.”
Logan’s jaw tightened.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“No.”
I looked directly at him.
“I’m enjoying not being afraid of your reactions.”
That landed.
Dinner began with soup.
Then salmon.
Then warfare.
Bennett tried first.
“Marriage requires compromise.”
“Agreed.”
“Then filing for divorce within twenty-four hours may have been excessive.”
I placed my fork down.
“Perhaps intentionally canceling your wife’s international flight because she refuses to apologize is also excessive.”
Logan sighed.
“You keep using the word canceled like you had no resources.”
“You boarded with my pass.”
“You have money.”
I stared at him.
“So rich women cannot be controlled?”
Bennett’s expression shifted.
“Valeria.”
“I’d genuinely like clarification.”
Evelyn intervened.
“Logan made an impulsive mistake.”
I turned toward him.
“Was it impulsive?”
Nobody spoke.
Bennett frowned.
“What does that mean?”
I looked at Logan.
“The airline told me my booking was separated approximately twenty minutes before boarding.”
Bennett slowly turned toward his son.
“Is that true?”
Logan’s shoulders stiffened.
“It wasn’t exactly—”
“Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Evelyn’s face changed.
“You canceled it before the argument?”
“I wanted her to understand I was serious.”
Bennett leaned back.
“Jesus, Logan.”
“I was going to rebook her.”
“If?”
Logan glared at me.
“If she apologized.”
I laughed.
I couldn’t help it.
“What’s funny?”
“You’re describing coercion like an airline loyalty program.”
“Stop using therapeutic language.”
“It’s ordinary English.”
“You were disrespecting me.”
Chloe finally spoke.
“This is becoming uncomfortable.”
I turned to her.
“Good.”
She blinked.
“You were the reason we argued.”
“I did not ask Logan to leave dinner.”
“You called him.”
“I was having a panic attack.”
“For three hours?”
Her cheeks flushed.
Logan instantly stepped in.
“Stop attacking Chloe.”
Something inside me settled.
Even here.
Even now.
Even while claiming he wanted our marriage repaired.
His instinct was to protect Chloe from discomfort and expect me to absorb pain.
That did not prove a physical affair.
It proved something I finally considered equally serious.
He had built a marriage in which another woman occupied protected territory.
I leaned back.
“Thank you.”
Logan frowned.
“For what?”
“For making this easier.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Valeria, everyone understands that you’re hurt.”
“No.”
I looked around the table.
“You understand that I’m inconvenient.”
Bennett cleared his throat.
“Let’s discuss the company issue.”
There it was.
The real purpose of dinner.
Logan stiffened.
“Dad.”
“No.”
Bennett looked at me.
“Your company believes proprietary materials were used improperly.”
“My company is investigating.”
“What do you want?”
“A complete audit of every Mendoza Creative asset accessed through Logan or his office.”
Evelyn laughed softly.
“You want to audit us?”
“I want to know where my company’s work went.”
“You are accusing our son of theft.”
“I am asking whether he used information without authorization.”
Logan hit his palm against the table.
“I was helping you.”
A server near the door froze.
Logan lowered his voice.
“You were overwhelmed. Sterling Grand was too large for your agency.”
My anger sharpened.
“We won that project competitively.”
“Because I introduced you.”
“You introduced me to a procurement director who already knew our work.”
“You got the opportunity because of me.”
“Then why did your team rank our proposal first before anyone knew we were dating?”
No answer.
I continued.
“You requested confidential models.”
“Your team was slow.”
“You presented one of my proprietary frameworks internally.”
“It was adapted.”
“It was copied.”
“Valeria—”
“Did you believe marrying me made my work yours?”
Silence.
Evelyn said coldly, “This is why spouses should not conduct business against one another.”
“Against?”
I looked at her.
“Interesting choice of word.”
Bennett turned back to Logan.
“What is the financial exposure?”
Logan looked away.
That was the first moment I realized Bennett didn’t know everything.
“Logan.”
“The framework is conceptual.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Logan rubbed his jaw.
“Sterling Grand investor materials reference it.”
Bennett’s expression changed.
“How many?”
“Most.”
The room went completely still.
The Sterling Grand redevelopment was valued near six hundred million dollars.
If our proprietary framework had been incorporated into investor materials without permission, this wasn’t an embarrassing slide deck anymore.
It was legal exposure tied to a massive development.
Bennett stood.
“Excuse me.”
Evelyn followed him.
Logan stared at me.
“You happy?”
“No.”
“You’re trying to destroy me.”
“I didn’t send the materials.”
“You caused this.”
“No.”
I leaned forward.
“You caused it and assumed I would protect you because I loved you.”
“That’s marriage.”
“No.”
I stood.
“That’s your version of marriage.”
I picked up my bag.
Then Chloe stood too.
“Valeria.”
I turned.
For once she looked frightened.
“Can we talk?”
“About what?”
“Madrid.”
Logan immediately said, “No.”
Every person remaining at the table looked at him.
Chloe frowned.
“Why?”
“This isn’t the time.”
“You told me she knew.”
My stomach dropped.
“Knew what?”
“Chloe,” Logan warned.
She ignored him.
“You told me Valeria knew I was in Madrid.”
I stared.
“What?”
Color left Chloe’s face.
“He told me you knew he invited me.”
The dining room seemed to disappear.
I turned toward my husband.
“You invited her?”
He said nothing.
Chloe continued.
“He said you thought it would be good for me because I’d been having a difficult month.”
I could barely process the sentence.
“You booked her trip?”
“She was already planning Europe.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Silence.
“Did you arrange for Chloe to be in Madrid during our honeymoon?”
“I helped with logistics.”
Chloe whispered, “He paid for the hotel.”
Amelia swore under her breath.
I stared at Logan.
He had secretly helped another woman travel to the same city as our honeymoon.
Left our romantic dinner to spend three hours with her.
Then demanded I apologize for questioning it.
I grabbed my coat.
Logan stepped toward me.
“Valeria, it wasn’t like that.”
“Don’t touch me.”
He stopped.
I looked at Chloe.
“You wanted to talk?”
She nodded.
“Call Natalie tomorrow.”
Logan snapped, “Absolutely not.”
Chloe turned.
“Why are you suddenly afraid of what I might say?”
No answer.
I walked outside.
Halfway down the steps, Amelia followed.
“Val.”
I turned.
She looked pale.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Before the wedding, Logan told Dad marrying you would solve the Sterling Grand problem.”
Every part of me went still.
“What problem?”
“I don’t know.”
“Exact words?”
She nodded.
“Marrying Valeria will solve the Sterling Grand problem.”
I carried those words home.
By the next afternoon, I would understand them.
May you like
And compared with what they meant, being abandoned at the airport would begin to look almost small.
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