The following day, we sat across from each other in our living room, the quiet ticking of the clock marking the passage of time. « I should have told you, » my spouse admitted, their eyes meeting mine for the first time in what felt like weeks.
« Why didn’t you? » I asked, the question hanging in the air between us.
They hesitated, searching for the right words. « I thought it would be easier this way. That I was protecting us. »
As we spoke, the distance began to close, a tentative bridge forming over the chasm of misunderstanding. It would take time to rebuild the trust that had been fractured, but sitting there, I realized it was a journey we would have to navigate together.
Note: This story is a work of fiction inspired by real events. Names, characters, and details have been altered.
