But the man standing beside the truck was no longer the man who had packed his bag that first night.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“Don’t you love me anymore?”
“I can’t answer that the way you want me to.”
She stared at him.
He continued gently.
“I won’t spend the rest of my life trying to become somebody you won’t leave. And I won’t pretend that a few tears can undo what happened.”
Claire looked toward the gym.
“Derek said he would pay you.”
“That is between him, my attorney, and me.”
“Are you going to take his money?”
“I’m going to settle the divorce fairly. The law will determine what we’re each entitled to. Derek’s offer doesn’t replace that process.”
She nodded.
“I understand.”
Cole opened the truck door, then paused.
“Claire, there’s something you should understand too.”
She looked up.
“I wasn’t quiet because I thought I was better than you. I wasn’t trying to punish you. I was trying to build a life in which neither of us had to live in fear.”
