Brandon was ordered to keep the medical coverage in force and to pay substantial support during the proceedings.

The asset-preservation order stayed in place, now with strict oversight of his business expenses.

And Cynthia was explicitly barred from any part of Brandon’s parenting time while the temporary order stood.

In the hallway afterward, Brandon came at me, his face dark.

“You are destroying everything we built,” he said.

“You brought another woman into our home,” I answered, “in front of our children, and announced she was moving in.”