When everyone arrived back home, Y/N and Miranda were fast asleep on the couch, still wrapped around each other, their heads resting comfortably together. Their tea cups sat on the table, long forgotten, as the TV played quietly in the background.
Damien was the first to notice them, smiling at the sight. "Look at them," he said softly. "They look exhausted."
Everyone else smiled, charmed by the cozy scene—except for Elizabeth and Behati. A flash of jealousy crossed Behati's face as she watched Y/N hold Miranda close, while Elizabeth's eyes lingered a little too long, her expression unreadable.
Damien stepped forward and carefully scooped Miranda up in his arms, his movements gentle as he tried not to wake her. He looked at Y/N, who stirred at the motion but didn't seem alarmed, simply nodding in acknowledgment. Damien carried Miranda upstairs to let her rest more comfortably.
As soon as he was gone, Y/N felt two little bodies pounce on her, giggling. Amelia and Nate had jumped onto the couch where Miranda had been, filling the empty space. "Mamma, guess what! Auntie Candice helped me make the biggest snowman ever!" Amelia squealed with excitement.
Nate chimed in, bouncing with energy. "And Auntie Behati taught me how to snowboard! It was so fun, Mama! She's really good at it! And then Auntie Aubrey was trying to act cool and impress Auntie Behati and she fell on her butt and uncle Damien filmed it"
Y/N laughed loudly at the thought of Aubrey falling before she warmly at her children, listening as they rattled off every little detail of their day, from the snowman's and the hot cocoa and Damien and Aubrey bickering.
The kids laughter was infectious,"That sounds amazing, guys. Im so glad you guys had a great time!"
Eventually, the kids' attention wandered to the promise of snacks in the kitchen, and they hopped off the couch, running off to raid the pantry. Y/N stretched, cracking her back, she let out a deep breath and noticed Elizabeth's gaze fixed on her, unusually intense.
"Can you come upstairs with me?" Elizabeth's voice was calm, but her eyes were calculating. Y/N's heart skipped a beat, but she nodded, following her up the stairs, unaware of what awaited her.
Once inside their bedroom, Elizabeth quietly locked the door behind her. She turned to Y/N, her expression unreadable, as if she were preparing for a serious conversation—or worse, a negotiation.
"I know about you and Behati," Elizabeth said in a measured tone. "I know you cheated, and I know you paid her."
Y/N's stomach dropped. She opened her mouth to respond, to explain, to justify her actions, but Elizabeth raised a hand to stop her.
"Before you say anything," Elizabeth continued, "I've spent all morning thinking about this. What I want to know is whether you slept with her here, in this house, where I was, where our kids were."
Y/N inhaled deeply, realizing there was no escaping the truth now. "No, we didn't," she admitted. "We almost did... but Miranda caught us before anything happened. She told me how reckless I was being, how stupid it was to risk everything like that."
Elizabeth nodded slowly, her face unreadable. "What made you do it? What made you hire someone?"
Y/N could feel the weight of her frustration rising to the surface. "I hired her once. And... I did it because I have been feeling... alone, Lizzie. I've tried for two years to talk to you about this—about us. We talked about how things felt... distant. How there's no passion. Maybe it doesn't mean much to you, but it matters to me. It's the difference between a marriage and a partnership."
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed. "So just because we don't sleep together every time you feel like it, it means I don't want you or love you?"
"No but it's TWO years, Elizabeth!" Y/N's voice cracked with emotion. "This isn't about one night, this is about how, for two years, we've barely been intimate at all. You're always busy, always distracted. We haven't even hugged without me initiating it. We've kissed maybe a handful of times since we got here."
Elizabeth sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Are you unhappy with anything else? Do you want to divorce me?"
Y/N hesitated, feeling the weight of the question. "Do you?"
Elizabeth shook her head, her expression softening. "I don't want to divorce you, Y/N. I love you, I love our family, our life. I don't want to break that up over something as trivial as a 'lack of passion.'"
Y/N closed her eyes, her voice quieter now. "But it's not trivial to me. It's important, Elizabeth. I need to feel close to you again. Are you willing to try? To spend time with me? Go on dates? Rebuild what we've lost?"
Elizabeth looked at Y/N, her gaze tender but tired. "Look, for me, intimacy and passion... it's overrated. I'm willing to try, sure, but I don't have the time to waste on dates and that kind of thing."
"It's not wasting time," Y/N replied, her voice desperate. "It's important to me."
Elizabeth took a deep breath, her tone shifting into something more businesslike. "Then keep Behati."
Y/N blinked, caught off guard. "What?"
Elizabeth exhaled slowly, her tone detached. "I don't want to feel pressured into changing my routine because you need more attention. If you want attention, keep paying for it. Just don't be stupid. Don't knock her up."
Y/N opened her mouth to protest, but Elizabeth's cold, practical demeanor stopped her. "I know Behati is friends with Candice, and she'll be around. So if she's here as Candice's guest, fine. But if you paid for her, I don't want her near the kids. You can have her whenever you want, just not in our bed, and not at the expense of our children."
Y/N stared at Elizabeth in disbelief. She had expected anger, jealousy, maybe even an argument that showed Elizabeth still cared, that she wanted to fight for them. Instead, Elizabeth was handing her the affair like a business deal. No jealousy. No passion.
Elizabeth stepped closer and grasped Y/N's chin firmly, "if you touch her, you won't touch me until the day after. When you come home, you shower and you put everything you wore in the wash. I don't want to see her or hear about her. And I want you to get tested once every three months. Understood?"
Y/N nodded, her chest tightening. "Understood."
Elizabeth released her and gave a small, satisfied nod. "Glad we've come to an agreement."
As Elizabeth walked out of the room, Y/N collapsed onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Elizabeth didn't care.
She had expected this confrontation to spark something: anger, jealousy, interest... anything really. But instead, she got a cold, calculated arrangement. The emptiness of it settled over her like a weight, and for the first time, Y/N truly understood just how far apart they had drifted.
