“No. A mistake is forgetting an appointment.”
I looked him directly in the eyes.
“This required planning.”
He cried.
I felt nothing.
That frightened me.
Daniel apologized for nearly an hour.
He blamed no one but himself, which I suppose was better than the alternative.
But every apology sounded small beside the messages I had seen.
Finally, I said:
“I’m not promising you anything.”
He nodded quickly.
“I understand.”
“No, listen to me.”
He stopped.
“I am going home because I am seven months pregnant and I need stability. We will sleep separately. You will not touch me. You will not pressure me to forgive you. You will answer any question I ask honestly.”
“Yes.”
“And after the baby is born, I will decide what happens to this marriage.”
His face fell slightly.
But he nodded.
“Okay.”
That was how I stayed.
Not as a wife.
As a woman buying time.
