For a moment, something inside me broke.
Not because I believed him.
Because I remembered how desperately I once wanted those words to mean what I thought they meant.
I looked at the man standing before me.
The man whose dreams I had helped finance.
The man whose bills I had helped pay.
The man for whom I had accepted insults, disappointment, and years of being treated as an afterthought.
And I realized that I had spent far too long trying to earn something that should never have required such sacrifice.
“You know what hurts most?” I asked.
He said nothing.
“I never wanted your money.”
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
“I know.”
“I didn’t want a mansion or an expensive car. I didn’t want to be admired by strangers because I was married to an important businessman.”
My voice trembled.
“I wanted someone to come home to. Someone who would be kind to me when life was difficult. Someone I could trust.”
