For the second morning in a row, Lina awoke feeling dizzy with her cell phone pressed into the side of her cheek. She squinted at the clock and groaned when she realized she’d overslept, knowing she wouldn’t have time to shower before dropping Logan at his bus stop.

Thankfully, Katie had started to drink coffee, so there was a full pot when she made it down to the kitchen. “What’s wrong with your face?” Katie asked, squinting up at her. “Did you sleep on something?”

Lina touched her cheek, feeling the outline of the cell phone. “Yes, my phone.”

“Yeah, that’s what it is.”

Lina gripped the counter as she brought her coffee mug to her lips, taking a long swallow of the warm liquid. “We’re getting a dog.”

“What?”

“We need a dog.”

“Did you say something about a dog?” Logan entered the room looking as tired as Lina felt, his eyes puffier than normal and his hair uncombed.

“Yes.” She paused to kiss his cheek. “We’re getting a dog. A big dog.” One that could sleep at the end of her bed so she didn’t have to wake up with a cell phone indentation in her face.

“Cool.” He smiled for the first time in two days.

“Why would you call Phil?” Adele asked Lina a couple of hours later as they sat across from each other at a small bakery, sharing a muffin.

“It wasn’t a conscious decision, but he’s always been the one who could calm me down. After that night with Shiloh…It used to happen to me after that night, and he could always make the suffocating feeling go away.”

“But now you’re having it because you kicked him out. Do you plan to have him help you get past him? How is that going to work exactly?”

“It was one time, and it was the middle of the night. It wasn’t planned. And I realized something when I woke up this morning. I have no idea who I am separate from him. I’m completely dependent on him, financially, physically, mentally. I’ve lost myself.”

“That’s a profound realization.”

“I don’t even know how much money we have. He takes care of everything. I’ve never even looked at our tax returns. I just sign whatever he puts in front of me.”

“That’s crazy, Lina.”

“I know. I took your advice, though. Just before I came here I opened an account in my name and put twenty-five thousand in it—half of what was in our joint account.”

Adele gripped her hand. “Good. Now we need to find you a good lawyer.”

She went from coffee with Adele to lunch with Diane. “What are you doing, Lina?” Diane said practically before she sat down. “Are you really going to throw your marriage away over a four-month affair? You look terrible, by the way.”