ily friend. He heard snippets of conversation at the office, whispers about a crazy confession on a late-night rad

ey estate, when he heard it again. Sarah was scrolli

oman called into a radio show and said she married her husband because he

his attention on a busine

ah continued, laughing. "I bet her husband is some ugly old

, uncomfortable prickle, made E

d him because he looked exactly

Chloe' s coldness, her strange moments of distant sadness, the way she sometimes looked at him as if she were seeing a g

thought. It was absurd. A coincide

back to his own house, an impulse he couldn' t explain. He hadn' t plan

ing from the master bedroom upstairs. He walked up the stairs, his footste

nerable in the dim light. The small bandage on her temple was a stark reminder

on stirring in his chest. It wasn't anger. It wasn't

in her sleep. She murmured

eo.

e a punch to the gut

th a sickening certainty. The radio confession. The way she looked at hi

ne in control, the one punishing her with his indifference. He had thought her suffering was for him. But it wasn't. She wasn

the room a few minutes later, flicking

the sudden brightness. "Etha

aid, his voice harsh.

with Sarah," she s

e said the word 'loving' with a sarcastic sneer. He wanted to hurt her,

ed, that he cared. So he just stood there, glaring at her, his heart

her voice regaining i

, slamming the door behind him. He went to a guest room, the name 'Leo' echoing in his m