He handed her the notebook.
You can leave.
Rosalie stared at him.
He wrote:
I won’t stop you.
She looked at the man who had been sold a wife for fifty dollars.
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The man who had given her his bedroom.
Who slept beside the fire.
Who never touched her without permission.
Who had trusted her with the worst pain of his life.
She wrote:
Do you want me to leave?
Gideon looked
at her for a long time.
Then he wrote:
No.
Rosalie’s heart beat faster.
He added:
But I won’t ask you to stay because you were sold.
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She took the pencil.
Then don’t.
She looked into his eyes.
Ask me because you want me here.
Gideon’s hand tightened around the pencil.
For the first time since their wedding, he smiled without sadness.
He wrote:
Stay.
Rosalie smiled.
I will.
