My Husband Asked For A Divorce On His Retirement Day—So I Revealed My 30-Year Secret Chapter 10
Amanda subtly let go of his arm.
Humiliation flooded Griffin’s face. “Donatella, you hid all this from me.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t hide it. You just never looked.”
Griffin said nothing. After a moment, as if remembering something, he rushed to speak. “But for all these years, the family still lived on my salary, didn’t we? I raised our son. I supported this household. You lived in my house and ate my food. That cost money, didn’t it?”
He spoke quickly, desperately. Michael was looking at me, too.
I lifted a hand. Jessica’s assistant opened a laptop and projected a spreadsheet onto the conference room screen.
The first line item was Michael’s college tuition.
Payer: Hearthstone Services Company.
Payee: New York University Bursar’s Office.
Amount: $56,000.
The color drained from Michael’s face.
The second line showed the expenses for his study abroad program in London.
Payer: Donatella Blake, personal account.
Memo: Educational expenses.
Amount: $38,000.
The third line listed his MBA tuition loans, his apartment security deposit, and the relocation costs for his first job in Chicago. Every dollar was accounted for.
“Michael,” I asked, “did your father pay for any of that?”
His lips looked dry. “I… I thought that was all family money.”
“It was family money,” I agreed. “But this family was never supported by your father alone.”
The screen kept scrolling. The down payment on Michael’s first house when he got married: four hundred thousand dollars. Payer: Donatella Blake.
Lauren sat bolt upright. I saw her hand tighten around her purse strap.
Then came the bill from the private hospital where she gave birth to Leo. Twenty-five thousand dollars. I had paid that, too.