“Do you think he’ll try to contact us? Try to negotiate some kind of settlement?”
Blaine was quiet for a moment considering this. “Maybe. But if he does, he’ll find out that we’re not the same broken people he left behind. We’re not grieving anymore. We’re not isolated. And we’re not powerless.”
He was right. The weeks of working together toward a common goal had been like physical therapy for our relationship. We were learning to be partners again, to support each other, to trust that neither of us would disappear without warning.
The love was still there, stronger than ever. But we were building new patterns of communication and cooperation on top of that foundation.
“I want our life back,” I said firmly. “Not just the money, though we deserve that. I want the respect and dignity he stole from us. I want him to acknowledge what he did and apologize for every day we spent apart.”
