“I know.”
“You will never get that day back.”
This time he did cry.
Quietly.
With one hand pressed hard against his mouth.
Madison did not comfort him, and for once she did not apologize for letting his regret belong to him.
Over the next months, Ethan did the one thing Madison had stopped expecting: he showed up on time, took the parenting classes, came to pediatric appointments when invited, and told Lorraine no when she demanded unsupervised time with Noah.
The divorce became final just under a year later.
There was no dramatic courtroom battle.
They sold the house.
They divided assets fairly.
They signed a parenting plan that gave Noah structure instead of using him as a rope in a private war.
After the judge signed the order, Ethan waited for Madison in the courthouse parking lot.
No attorneys.
No mediator.
Just the two of them and Noah on Madison’s hip, trying to chew the strap of her purse.
