Claire stepped closer.
“I thought you were distant because you didn’t love me anymore.”
“I loved you.”
“Loved?”
Cole took a breath.
“I can’t tell you what I feel now. Not tonight.”
She looked down.
“I made a terrible mistake.”
“You made a series of decisions.”
She nodded, crying openly now.
“I know.”
“You lied to me. You let another man insult me. You watched him turn our marriage into a competition.”
“I know.”
“And when you told me I was boring, you made it sound as if being dependable was something I should apologize for.”
Claire covered her mouth.
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Maybe you didn’t mean to hurt me. But you did.”
For several seconds, the only sound was traffic passing on the road.
Then Claire whispered, “Is there any chance we can fix this?”
Cole had imagined hearing those words when he was younger. He had imagined the relief of discovering that, after all the misunderstandings, his wife still wanted him.
