“And the proposed settlement?” Evelyn asked.

“I wanted her protected.

I didn’t understand that the debts and unauthorized transactions could follow us anyway.”

Evelyn didn’t offer him comfort.

She explained that a divorce could not erase obligations to outside parties by private agreement, and that any proposed transfer would need careful review rather than his assumptions.

I watched his face as she spoke.

He looked stunned that his great final gesture might have been another decision made without understanding its consequences.

“I don’t want to punish you,” I told him.