I looked at the ring again.
Then I looked at the man I had loved for six years.
I wanted to feel only relief, but I couldn’t pretend the past two months had been fair to me. His fear might have explained his silence, but it didn’t erase the loneliness I had felt or the way he had dismissed my questions about marriage.
“Mark,” I whispered, “do you understand what I thought when I saw you?”
He nodded.
“I do now.”
“I thought you had spent six years waiting for someone younger. Someone who could give you the children I couldn’t.”
His eyes widened.
“Allison, no.”
“I thought I had wasted my life waiting for you to choose me.”
He moved closer, his voice breaking.
“You haven’t wasted your life. Not one day of it. I love you. I’ve loved you for years, and I should have shown you that by being honest with you.”
