And I understood, with a strange, peaceful clarity, what her next move would be.
Because people who covet what they mock will eventually reach for it.
They can’t help themselves.
So I would simply stop protecting a woman who had spent four days trying to break me.
I would let her make her own choices, and I would let those choices arrive.
People who covet what they mock will eventually reach for it.
I climbed into bed that night lighter than I had felt in months.
I finally sensed that the real reckoning was coming, and it wasn’t going to be mine.
***
The fourth afternoon started quietly, which should have been my first warning.
I’d gone upstairs to grab a bottle for the baby when I heard movement inside our bedroom.
The door was slightly open.
I slowed without thinking.
The real reckoning was coming
Diane was inside.
She had her back to me, standing in front of my mirror.
