“And then what?” Michael asked, his voice broken. “You just erase us from your life after everything?”
“No,” I replied. “You erased me from yours tonight. I’m just respecting your decision.”
“But we said terrible things because we didn’t know,” Marlene insisted, panic in her voice. “Now, if we had known the truth—”
“And that is exactly the problem,” I interrupted. “That your behavior depends on what you think someone can offer you. That’s not respect. That’s opportunism.”
Marlene’s father stepped forward, trying to regain some dignity. “Look, obviously we all made mistakes tonight, but we’re reasonable people. We can reach an agreement.”
“An agreement?” I repeated, almost laughing at the audacity. “What kind of agreement are you proposing? We pretend nothing happened in exchange for what? Access to my money, my connections, my resources.”
“That’s not it,” he said quickly, though his expression betrayed him.
It was exactly that.