He ate three bites. Then he asked, “Does Dad love her more than us?”
I nearly lost it.
Instead, I said, “Dad loving someone else doesn’t mean he stopped loving you.”
“What about you?”
I wouldn’t lie. “I think your dad made choices that hurt me very badly.”
His lip trembled. “Are we still a family?”
“We will always be a family.”
“How?”
“Families can change and still be families.”
I don’t know where those words came from.
I barely believed them myself.
We flew home that evening.
The next morning, I called my lawyer.
She listened without interrupting.
Then she told me something important.
The affair itself would not automatically decide custody or finances in our state.
What mattered was evidence of marital spending, parenting patterns, assets, and anything affecting Mason’s welfare.
“Document everything,” she said. “Do not delete anything. Do not access accounts you aren’t legally entitled to access.”
