On Monday morning, I’m in the office, and by some miracle, I’m able to focus on my work. Skylar is on my mind, as always, but it’s not as distracting as before. Just before lunch, my secretary tells me that Paul is here to see me. For a moment, I wonder if I should see him at all. He never visits my office. Hell, we don’t see each other unless our parents make a point of inviting us somewhere together.

For Paul to come and see me means something is wrong, and I don’t want to know what it is.

“You can send him through,” I finally say, and a moment later, Paul walks into my office. He closes the door behind him so it’s just the two of us. I raise my eyebrows. I don’t like being shut in with my brother. It’s not that I’m scared of him, but he’s very close to being my least favorite person.

“What a surprise to see you,” I say.

“How predictable that you should say that,” Paul says and sits down, without me inviting him to do so. He leans back in the chair, crosses his legs, and looks positively comfortable. I try to figure out his mood. He looks neat and put together, the way he always does. A suit and tie has always worked for him where I prefer jeans. He’s not upset or angry that I can tell.

“How are things going with the game development?” Paul asks.

I frown. “Well, thank you. Why do you ask?”

He shrugs. “I know you’re pulling in a lot of money now. It’s always nice to know that you don’t have to worry about bills.”

I don’t know what to say. I can’t tell where he’s going with this. I nod, because, of course, he is right. It is nice not to worry about bills.

“What I find, though,” he continues. “Is that the more money I have, the more things I buy. And the more things I buy, the more I worry that someone will take it.”

“Right,” I say, nodding slowly.

I swallow. He can’t be talking about Skylar, can he? He wouldn’t talk about her as something he owns, I’m sure. I’m just paranoid about what we’re doing behind Paul’s back.

“Of course, with today’s technology, it’s possible to keep everything perfectly safe. You know, just after Skylar and I moved into the new place, I had security cameras set up everywhere.”

My blood runs cold. Shit.

“I know,” Paul carries on, and he’s achingly calm. “I get a little carried away, but I was nervous about leaving her alone in such a big house with so many valuable things when she can’t fend for herself.” He pauses and glances up at me. I don’t say anything because I don’t know what to say. “Imagine my surprise when I realized that the cameras didn’t pick up anyone forcing their way into my home, but Skylar playing along. And fucking him on the bed.”

I shake my head. “Paul, you need to talk to Skylar.”

Paul laughs, and the sound is bitter, the first sign that he’s not as calm as he comes across.

“Why should I talk to her?” he asks. “The evidence that she is fucking my brother is all on tape. I can do a lot with this in court, you know.”

I can hear my blood rush in my ears. I feel strangely lightheaded. I know that we fucked up, but this will never hold up in court, not if the marriage doesn’t exist.

“I’m serious, Paul. I know I was wrong, but you need to talk to her. Then, after you do, you can do whatever you want. Just talk to her first. You owe her that much.”

“Ha!” Paul barks, a laugh that makes me cringe because it’s so sour. “I owe her that much? Why the fuck would I owe her anything? I have given her everything her heart desires. And this is what she does to repay me?”

He shakes his head and gets up from the chair.

“Honestly, Parker,” he says. “I’ve always thought you were a piece of shit, but this is low, even for you.”

With those words, he leaves my office. A piece of shit? Under normal circumstances I would have fought with him about that, but this time, he’s right. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have done what I did. It’s too late now. We can only pick up the pieces.

I grab the phone receiver and hold it to my ear, dialing Skylar’s number.

“He knows,” I say when she answers.

“What?” she asks, but her voice is thin, and I know she knows what I’m talking about. “How?”

“He has the whole house rigged with security camera. You didn’t know?”

She’s quiet for long enough that I have to ask if she’s still there.

“Oh, my God,” she finally says. “I have to tell him.”

I nod, even though she can’t see me.

“What do I do?” she asks. “I don’t know what to tell him. How do I say it? Parker, I’m scared.”

I sigh. “I know. This isn’t easy. But it’s necessary, now more than ever. And if it goes wrong, you can come to me. You know I have space for you.”

I mean in my home when I say it, but I have a space for her in my life, too.

“God, how did this happen?” she asks, but I don’t answer her. We both know how it happened. We’re quiet on the line together for a moment, and then she says, “I’ll call you when I’ve spoken to him.”

She hangs up, and I’m left alone in my office, feeling like my hands are tied, unable to do anything to help clean up the mess I helped create.

The hours tick by slowly. The longer I don’t hear from her, the more I worry. I won’t call her. I’ll wait for her to call me. But I’m worried about the time it’s taking. If they’re talking about it this long, they might be working it out. As much as it’s my brother, I don’t want them to work it out. I’m being selfish, I know. I’m being a dick, wanting my brother’s wife. But I’ve been in love with her for a long time, and I’ve slept with her twice now. If anything, I want to be with her more than ever. If they break up, it might be possible.

I shake my head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. What kind of man would that make me? That’s even more serious than the bro code, where you don’t date your friend’s ex-girlfriends. This would effectively be dating my brother’s ex-wife. Everything about that seems wrong.

And still, I can’t imagine her walking away from all of this and not having her be a part of my life anymore. I don’t want to think about it.

It was wrong to sleep with her. It felt so right, but it was wrong. She had an affair with her brother-in-law. At least, technically. I wasn’t so sure if it was valid now, with her marriage being voided, but cheating was hardly a technicality, was it? We had both known that she belonged to someone else when we jumped into it. We’d both had a clear head. To fall back on the voided marriage was a poor excuse.

I can’t concentrate on my work at all. I am worried about her. My stomach is tight, and I feel sick. My head aches dully, and I find myself staring at the same screen, not taking anything in.

When my phone rings, I snatch it up. It’s been three hours, and I’m frantic. The caller number is withheld.

“Yes?” I ask.

“Parker,” she says, and she’s on the verge of tears, her voice brittle.

“Skylar,” I say. “What happened?”

“Will you meet me at the bakery after I close up for the day? I need to see you.”

I swallow. “Of course,” I say. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ll talk to you when you get here,” she says and hangs up.

I’m worried now. She won’t even tell me over the phone. That can only mean one thing. She’s going to ask me to stay away from her. I don’t want to be told off and cast aside after everything that’s happened, but if it’s her wish, I’m going to have to respect it. God, seeing her at family gatherings is going to be a hell of a lot worse than it’s been before.

I leave the office earlier than usual because I can’t think straight anyway, and I drive through the streets of LA until it’s time to see her at the bakery. I go there with a heavy heart. How do you say goodbye to someone you finally got to hold onto?

When I arrive, the shop is already empty, and she’s sitting at one of the little tables. She has a cup of coffee in front of her, but it’s not steaming anymore. How long has she been sitting like this?

“Hi,” I say.

Only then does she look up at me. She’s not wearing any makeup, like she cried it all off, and her hair is a mess. Her hands and her face are clean, with no flour to be seen anywhere. Usually when she struggles emotionally, she bakes. This is a very bad sign. I’m preparing for the worst.

“Talk to me,” I say, sitting down opposite her.

She sighs and turns watery blue eyes to me.

“He kicked me out,” she says.

I frown. “What?” This is the last thing I expected.

She looks down at the coffee she didn’t drink and nods.

“We had a really big fight. A lot of things were said.” Her voice cracks, and she swallows hard before continuing. “The bottom line is that he knows that our marriage is voided now. He said if he can’t do anything about my ‘affair’,” she makes quotation marks in the air with her fingers, “then I have to leave because he won’t live with a cheating whore.”

I cringe for her sake. Those are very harsh words.

“I’m sorry, Skylar,” I say, and I mean it. Sorry that my brother is a dick and sorry that I put her in this predicament. I reach out and touch her shoulder, and it’s as if the touch finally allows Skylar to cry. Big fat tears roll over her cheeks. I want to pull her against me, hold her, comfort her, but I’m not sure if she’ll let me. I’m scared she blames me for this because it’s partly my fault.

“I don’t know what to do,” she says in a whisper. “I mean, I guess I could get a place of my own…”

I don’t know what she’s going to say to finish that sentence, but I don’t let her. I shake my head.

“Come stay with me,” I say.

She looks up at me, unsure.

“It doesn’t have to be for long. Just until the two of you figure out what’s the next step. But you don’t have to be alone, and I know this is half my fault. Let me make it up to you by caring for you, at least.”

She looks down at her hands, thinking about it. I don’t try any harder to persuade her. We sit in silence, and I let her make her decision by herself. It’s hard when all I want is for her to come home with me so that I can protect her, but I impress myself but keeping quiet. Finally, she looks up at me. Her eyes are like the ocean, drowning deep and shimmering.

“Okay,” she says so softly I barely hear it. “Thank you.”