It was a masterpiece of deceit, and it was finally over.

Our divorce was finalized six months later. Because Greg had used my sole inheritance money to support his other household, the judge was merciless.

Greg was ordered to repay the entire 40,000 dollars, and his business equipment was liquidated to cover the first installment. He had to sell his truck, the one he used to drive between Kettering and Huber Heights.

Amanda ended up moving back to her parents’ home in Michigan. She and I don’t talk often, but we exchange text messages on holidays. We share a strange, quiet bond. We are the two women who refused to let Greg play his games anymore.

Yesterday, Lily and I moved into our new apartment in Oakwood. It is small, but it has big windows that let in the afternoon light.

Lily was sitting at our new dining table, coloring on a fresh piece of white paper. She drew three figures. One was her, one was me, and one was a very fat orange cat we had adopted from the shelter the week before.

“Who is that?” I asked, pointing to the cat.

“That’s Barnaby,” she said, smiling up at me with her two front teeth missing. “He’s our new family.”

I looked at the drawing and then looked out the window at the quiet street. For the first time in a very long time, I felt like I could finally breathe.