I had almost burst into tears right there because she did not demand that I explain myself right away.

I stayed on her couch for one night.

The very next morning, I moved into a hotel located downtown, primarily because I needed a safe location that Gavin could not easily track down.

I had spent the following three days taking care of practical legal steps.

I changed all my online security passwords, called my banking institutions, froze our joint credit accounts, and scheduled a consultation with a family law attorney whom Chloe had recommended.

I also made duplicate copies of every single paper inside the red folder.