The smallest acknowledgment that he was human.
Inside the house, Gina joined me at the window.
Without taking her eyes off them, she spoke quietly.
“She needed the truth.”
“I know.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“You knew the facts.”
Her voice softened.
“Tonight, you learned the price.”
I couldn’t argue.
She was right.
Ryan remained standing near the coffee table where the untouched glass of water still rested.
Beside it lay the broken pieces of the life I thought I had built on love.
I walked toward him.
“I’m sorry.”
He looked up.
“You should never have carried this.”
He gave a small nod.
“I didn’t want to.”
He glanced toward the porch.
“I just couldn’t watch her spend one more day believing she wasn’t loved.”
Neither could I anymore.
But by the time I finally understood that…
Twelve irreplaceable years had already been lost.
