Chapter 12
Ryan asked to see Emily alone.
She said no.
He accused me of controlling her.
I almost laughed.
“Interesting complaint.”
He glared.
“She’s my wife.”
“Yes.”
“I have a right to speak to her.”
“No.”
His face tightened.
“What?”
“She decides who speaks to her privately.”
That concept offended him.
Of course.
He had spent too long believing marriage meant guaranteed access.
He looked at Emily through the glass door.
“She’s confused.”
I stared.
“No.”
“She’s pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“Hormonal.”
There it was.
Linda’s language now coming from his mouth.
Every resistance becomes biology.
Every boundary becomes instability.
Emily heard him.
She stepped into the doorway.
“I’m not confused.”
Ryan turned.
Her voice shook.
“But I am afraid of you.”
That sentence hit him harder than any punch I could have thrown.
He stared.
Emily continued.
“I loved you.”
Past tense.
Maybe temporary.
Maybe not.
Not my decision.
“But I started measuring every day by whether you were in a good mood.”
Ryan looked away.
“That isn’t marriage.”
May you like
No one spoke.
Emily had finally named the thing without my help.
