“The morning I collapsed, I was already overwhelmed,” she said. “I kept thinking about the divorce, about how I had failed at the most important relationship in my life. I made a terrible choice because I didn’t know how to stop the panic.”
Her voice was calm, but that made it worse. This was not the Rebecca I thought I had known. This was someone who had been quietly breaking while I stood beside her and saw only distance.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked before I could stop myself. “Why did you go through all of that alone?”
Rebecca finally looked at me. In her eyes, I saw years of pain and shame.
“Because I was afraid you would leave,” she said. “And then I was afraid you would stay only because you felt sorry for me. Either way, I thought I would lose you.”
