e in the lobby

so open and loving, was

twright, his arm around

mine," he announc

was firm,

of weakness, befor

heavy in the air, t

the product of the r

orld

ashes were like ex

omach, where our baby

in love, now ta

looked at

ed to

n in our pent

ably whisked away

?" My voice wa

an a hand thr

' s fragile. The assault, the pregnancy...

ring from my throat. "What about

e the scandal. It' s just for a li

old dismissal of m

ifice me, our baby, on the alt

over me, cold

ere clear. I was

" I said, the word

s phone, where messages fro

he said, d

s assista

e the divorce paperwork, Mrs. H

ffer

ecency to spea

olve h

fresh wound on top of the gap

Marcus, m

a calm ancho

with the Astor fa

t in a sterile off

nciliation period, Mrs. Vanc

odd

ned m

' s signature was

er looke

sign on his behalf,"

an Vance, a name that

ink on a page, se

be no reco

ch

ch

lic reminder of his betrayal, o

dn' t

child into this worl

nded a private clinic, d

s agony, a tear

I ma

e clinic th

art of him, this par

rate act of se

thesia w

k hold, memor

all Parisian bistro, a sing

full of

, you are my wo

on my first major architectural award, a swe

hen a controversial proj

em down together

uch a fra

vo

he stained-glass windows of

d resonant, filled

nd in health, for richer or poorer, forsakin

ieved

perfect, a h

was a bi

placed by a stranger who prioritized a c

i

e, a shadow in the back

explained years ago. "Her family help

cept

uste

Liv, a part

ever imagined she could be the

y felt fo

d been there,

alls at

to help her with

ly planned, abandoned because Liv

uses for h

ed, a low heat be

, my desires, my well

it all,

bbery at the cha

or. The

is public d

ur child, c

e final, un

eaking

im shattered,

be the wife

er of a child publicly

d us. Now, I wa

se from the clinic, my bo

opened onto a scene

here, in the

ly stroking

avorite armchair, the one

r "fears," her voic

attention, his face a

ting her conditio

I had just ended, wa

physical blow,

ave made

, his eyes final

e face, my un

g – concern? guilt? –

Are you a

him with the full horror of what he' d don

had gone

ed was a vast,

e. Too littl