“What about Amber?” another voice asked casually. “Are you still seeing her regularly?”
Evan’s laughter deepened, threaded unmistakably with pleasure.
“Amber provides enjoyment unburdened by exhaustion or constant irritation,” Evan replied smoothly. “Amber remains energetic, engaging, and appreciative rather than perpetually drained and emotionally depleted.”
Madison’s pulse roared violently within her ears.
“You are financing those outings using Madison’s relentless income streams?”
“Where else would resources originate under present circumstances?” Evan asked without hesitation. “Chronic exhaustion eliminated Madison’s capacity for scrutiny entirely.”
Madison stepped backward silently, each movement governed by a clarity so cold it frightened even her. Sleep never arrived that night, replaced instead by relentless cognition reorganizing years of unease into brutal coherence.
Three years earlier, Evan had stood before her trembling with carefully manufactured vulnerability. He spoke of gambling losses, mounting debt, catastrophic misjudgments, and desperate necessity. Madison believed every word because love demanded belief.
Madison accepted additional work without hesitation.