Tyler looked shocked.
“Emma, please.”
“I can’t talk about this anymore tonight.”
“We can talk tomorrow.”
“Maybe. But you need to leave now.”
He looked toward me.
I stood.
“I’ll help you get your things.”
While Tyler collected his backpack, Emma remained in the living room.
At the front door, he turned to me.
“I really didn’t know this would hurt her so much.”
“I believe you didn’t want to hurt her,” I said. “But you knew she was trusting you.”
He nodded.
“And every time you avoided telling her, you made that trust harder to repair.”
“I’m sorry.”
I opened the door.
He left without arguing.
When I returned, Emma was crying.
I sat beside her.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered, “I thought he was different.”
“He may genuinely care about you.”
“Then why wasn’t that enough?”
“Because caring about someone doesn’t mean you’re always treating them fairly.”
