Their arrangement

Lana starts with the thing that is not about her.

“Congratulations,” she says. “On the baby. I’m happy for you. For both of you.”

Adam’s face softens. “Thank you.”

She sits up. The leak and the ache are still there. She does not hide behind them.

“I can’t proceed with the arrangement. The first and the fifteenth. What we agreed. I’m ending it. It would be unfair after the last few days. To you. To me. To her. I don’t want to do that to myself. Bringing girls for you, earning nights, after what we just had. I can’t turn it back into a job.”

He listens. He does not interrupt.

“The time we got was a bonus,” she says. “The last few days. It wasn’t the deal. It was extra. And now it has to stop. You should focus on your family. Not on living in what this apartment was for a few days. Mia is coming home with your baby. That’s the life. This was a side room.”

She takes a breath.

“You and Mia should stop using other girls. The fantasies have been engaged enough. Me. Remy. Kyler. Danielle. You did the thing. With a baby on the way, try to have a normal life. Not forever, if you don’t want forever. Just now. Give the kid a house that isn’t a set. Give Mia a husband who is fully hers. Not a man who fucks other girls for her pleasure.”

Adam is quiet for a long moment. Then he nods.

“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” he says. “Since she told me. The arrangement has to end. The other girls too. For good. I need to get our life back on track. You’re right. The bonus was the bonus. It doesn’t get to become the marriage.”

Lana’s shoulders drop. Not relief exactly. The right kind of heavy.

He leans in. Kisses her. Soft. She lets it land, then she stops him. Hand on his chest. Clear.

“Mia is coming today,” she says. “I’m not your wife anymore. That ended yesterday.”

Adam agrees. He does not push the kiss into anything else. “Okay.”

They get up. They get dressed. At the table, with breakfast between them and the flight somewhere over the ocean, he looks at her.

“You’re coming with me to the airport,” he says. “To pick her up. It isn’t up for discussion. She should see you. You should see her. Then you can go.”

Lana looks at her plate. Then at him. She nods.

“Okay.”

They eat. They wait for the alert that says Mia has landed. The apartment is quiet. The arrangement is over. The car keys are by the door.

The alert rings. They get in the car and head to the airport.