“Don’t start.”
I stopped speaking.
That was the first time I understood that crying would not change his mind.
I gathered my pregnancy pillow, a blanket, my phone charger, and the thick sweatshirt I wore when the apartment felt cold.
The hallway outside our bedroom was dark.
I moved slowly toward the front door, pausing twice because my lower back hurt so badly that I needed to lean against the wall.
Ryan didn’t come after me.
He didn’t ask if I needed help carrying anything.
He didn’t even look up when I opened the door.
**The man I had trusted with my life watched me leave our home at three in the morning and went straight back to sleep.**
I took the elevator down to the parking garage, although the building’s elevator had been making strange noises for weeks.
When I reached my car, I unlocked it and climbed into the back seat.
