Michael and I are not a perfect couple. We have had difficult conversations about trust, secrecy, and the difference between protecting someone and controlling what they know.
But our marriage has become more honest.
Emily still visits several times a week. Sometimes she and Michael argue over the best way to cook dinner. Sometimes they laugh at old television shows and tease each other about things that happened years ago.
Now, when I see them together, I do not feel the same cold fear that once consumed me.
I know who they are to each other.
And I know that love, even genuine love, can become damaging when fear is allowed to make decisions on someone else’s behalf.
The photograph that nearly destroyed my peace still sits on a shelf in our living room. It shows Michael and Emily at the restaurant, smiling over their drinks.
For months, I could barely look at it.
