All the places I had turned into evidence of another woman were pieces of a battle Michael had fought without me.
I sat on a bench outside the hospital and cried for the husband I lost twice.
Once when I signed the divorce papers.
And once when they closed his coffin.
I still have his letter.
It stays in the drawer beside my bed.
Sometimes I read it.
Most nights, I don’t need to.
I know the final lines by heart.
You did not leave because you failed to love me.
You left because I was too afraid to let you love the truth.
For a long time, I believed our marriage ended because Michael had a secret.
Now I know that wasn’t quite right.
Our marriage ended because the man I loved most in the world decided he had to carry his worst fear alone.
And by the time I finally learned what he had been protecting me from…
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