All Chapters of His Budget Had a Favorite: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

By the time Henry came back from the balcony, the living room was dead quiet.I took Ashley to her room. She kept her head down, wiping her tears.Then footsteps came down the hall.Henry dropped onto the couch like nothing had happened."What? You think it's not enough?"I froze in the doorway.My heart sank.He could drop $30,000 on someone else.But his own daughter got $250.And he seriously had to ask if that was too little?I opened the door and walked straight up to him."Henry." I met his eyes. "Ashley gets $250 a month. So who gets the $30,000?"His fingers went still.Just for a second.But I caught it.Instead of answering, he frowned. "Were you listening to my call?"I almost laughed.So that was the problem.Not that he was spending our family's money on someone else.That I'd heard him.I stared at him. "So it's true?"Henry's face darkened. "Don't make this into some huge thing. Anna raised Brandon alone all these years. Now he has a chance to go abr

Chapter 2

The next day, I drove Ashley to school to drop off some paperwork.She barely said a word.As we got close, she finally spoke."Mom, I can take out student loans."My hands tightened on the wheel."I can get a part-time job too. Just don't fight with Dad because of me."I looked over at her.She was only eighteen.Other freshmen were talking about dorms and orientation.Ashley was already thinking about loans, a job, and how to save me money.That took me back to when Ashley was in middle school.She'd won first place in a foreign language competition and earned a spot in an out-of-state training program.She talked about it for days.But when I mentioned it at dinner, Henry barely cared."Why go through all that for some little competition? If she's really that good, colleges will see it anyway."Ashley had gone still for a second."Then I won't go."That night, I brought her milk and found her under the covers, crying.After that, she never got to take art classes.

Chapter 3

Henry never came home that night.The next morning, I went straight to Paige's law firm.She flipped through the transfers and screenshots I'd brought, her frown deepening with every page.My chest went cold.Everything Ashley had gone without over the years had paid for another kid's living expenses, tuition, and summer camps.I left the firm and got into my car.Just as I reached for the ignition, I spotted a familiar car parked nearby.Henry's.A few minutes later, three people walked out of the mall.Henry.Anna.And Brandon.Brandon had a brand-new laptop bag over his shoulder and a passport holder in his hand.Anna had her arm hooked through Henry's, smiling like she couldn't help herself.Henry looked totally at ease beside them. He even reached over and fixed Brandon's shoulder strap.They looked like a family.I sat frozen in my car, completely numb.Suddenly, I remembered Ashley's third-grade Family Day.She'd been excited for days.One night after homework

Chapter 4

Over the next few days, I stopped fighting with Henry.I was too busy getting Ashley ready for college and sending Paige every bank record and screenshot I had.I looked calm on the outside.And somehow, that made Henry more nervous.Before, every fight ended the same way.He'd ignore me for a few days, do one small nice thing, and I'd let it go for Ashley's sake.Not this time.I stopped asking.Stopped arguing.I stopped caring when he came home or who he was on the phone with.One day, he hovered in the kitchen doorway."Does Ashley still need anything for college?"I didn't look up. "No.""If $250 isn't enough, we can talk about it."I shut off the faucet and looked at him."Don't bother."His face tightened, but he didn't say anything else.Then move-in day came.The night before, Ashley and I were almost done packing when Henry got home late.He stood in the doorway watching us for a long second."I might not make it tomorrow."I looked at him. "Why?""Anna

Chapter 5

The second Henry saw me, he stopped cold.He stared through my car window.For a second, I thought he'd do what he always did.Panic. Explain. Find some way to make it all go away.But he didn't.He just stood there, his face slowly going pale.Because this time, I hadn't caught some little mistake.I'd caught the other life he'd been hiding for years.Anna stood behind him."Henry."He looked back at Anna.Guilt. Panic. Uncertainty.It was all over his face.But sitting in my car, I felt weirdly calm.Before, I would've jumped out, cried, and demanded answers.Now I couldn't even be bothered.Because I already had my answer.Henry walked over and tapped on my window.I cracked it open."Freya, let me explain."Of course."Let me explain."Same line. Every time.Whenever I caught something shady over the years, Henry always had an explanation ready.And with enough excuses, he could make anything sound innocent.I said nothing.He lowered his voice. "Anna's ha

Chapter 6

The next day, Paige officially filed for divorce.She also requested a forensic review of our finances.Henry panicked.He knew exactly what that meant.Once they started digging, there was nowhere left to hide the money.The apartment.Tuition.Training programs.Trips abroad.Every dollar he'd spent on Anna and Brandon.And every single time he'd looked me in the eye and said:"We can't afford it."It would all be evidence.Sure enough, Henry's mom, Eleanor, showed up that night.She sat on the couch, sighing over and over."Freya, you've been married this long. How can you just throw it away?"I poured her a glass of water.I said nothing.She kept going."Men help their friends sometimes. That's life."You can't blow up your whole family over something this small."I laughed. "Something small?"Eleanor frowned. "Isn't it?""What if Ashley's the one paying for it?"She froze."If Ashley needed $30,000 for college, would Henry give it to her?"Silence.I lo

Chapter 7

Henry was already there when I walked into our first mediation session.The second he saw me, he stood."Freya."I gave him a nod and sat down.The mediator asked us both to explain what happened.Henry went first.He said we'd been married too long to let things get ugly.He admitted he'd messed up.But according to him, he'd only spent the money to help a friend.He never meant to hurt his family.I didn't react.Paige slid the documents across the table."If this was just helping a friend, it wouldn't have gone on for more than ten years."She opened the file."We have everything. The first transfer. The apartment. The tuition. The later expenses."This goes way beyond helping a friend."Henry went quiet.The mediator looked at him. "Are these records accurate?"He said nothing.Because he couldn't.Every transaction was real.Paige kept going."More importantly, these payments line up with major moments in Ashley Kushner's life."She pulled out a few records.

Chapter 8

On the day of the hearing, Henry was quieter than I expected.No excuses.No begging.He just sat there with his head down.Like he finally understood a few apologies couldn't undo everything.Paige submitted the evidence one document at a time.Then she handed over records of Ashley's living expenses from over the years.Everything was right there in black and white.The judge reviewed the records, frowning."Do you admit these transfers are yours?"Henry was quiet for a second."Yes.""And this money went toward another woman and her son's expenses?"His hands tightened."Some of it.""Why didn't you discuss these payments with your wife?"Henry said nothing for a long moment.Then, quietly:"I didn't think... I had to."My fingers tightened.'I didn't think I had to.'So that was it.Our money.Ashley's future.Everything I'd put into this family.None of it had mattered enough for him to even ask.The hearing went on.Henry kept trying to explain.He fel

Chapter 9

After the divorce was final, Ashley and I moved out of the apartment we'd called home for over a decade.At first, it felt weird.One less person coming home at night.One less plate at the table.Even the living room felt too quiet.But little by little, I realized something.The quiet wasn't the hard part.The hard part had been waking up every day and convincing myself the marriage was still worth saving.On moving day, Ashley found an old box.Inside were things from when she was little.Certificates.Photos.And one faded yellow note.[Dad has to come watch my competition.]My hand froze when I picked it up.Ashley saw it too.After a second, she said quietly, "Mom, it's okay."I don't expect anything anymore."That hurt.At eighteen, she should still be able to expect love from her parents.Instead, she'd already learned to expect nothing so she wouldn't get hurt.I pulled her into a hug."Ashley."Don't tell yourself that. It's okay to want things from the

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