Brandon immediately said, “Is that Emma?”
“Yes.”
“Put me on video.”
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“I mean I’m going to feed our daughter, and we can talk tomorrow when we’re both calmer.”
He protested.
I ended the call anyway.
My hand shook after I pressed the button.
Rachel was standing in the hallway holding Lily.
“You okay?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “But I meant it.”
That mattered more.
The next morning Brandon sent twelve messages before eight.
Some were angry.
Some were defensive.
One accused Rachel of putting ideas in my head.
Another said marriages weren’t supposed to operate through contracts.
I forwarded everything to Dana without responding.
Then Brandon sent a different message.
What formula are they using now?
I stared at it.
The brand had changed three weeks earlier after Emma started having stomach problems.
The container had been sitting openly on our kitchen counter ever since.
