I watched him for a moment.
There was something painful about realizing that the person you loved could hurt you without intending to. We often imagine that the greatest threats to a relationship are betrayal, dishonesty, or a lack of love.
Sometimes, the damage begins with fear.
A person becomes frightened of disappointing someone, so they hide the truth. They become afraid of conflict, so they make decisions alone. They try to protect one relationship by sacrificing the trust that makes another relationship possible.
Daniel had not taken the ring because he had stopped loving me.
He had taken it because he was afraid of confronting a difficult family problem.
But his fear had left me carrying the consequences.
I reached across the table and placed my hand over his.
“I love you,” I said quietly. “I want to marry you. But I don’t want to begin our marriage by pretending that this morning didn’t happen.”
