That night, I unfolded Lena’s handwritten note again.
***“Please call me. Don’t let this opportunity pass again, Mallory.”***
I stared at the number.
Then I called.
“Mallory?”
“Hi, Lena.”
“I should’ve called sooner.”
“You should have.”
Despite everything, I smiled.
“I missed an opportunity. I don’t want to miss the next one.”
Her voice softened.
“Then tell me what you want.”
For once, I didn’t say I was fine.
“I want to move forward.”
That evening, Ethan was putting groceries away when I entered the kitchen carrying one of the red bundles.
He saw it and froze.
“Where did you get that?”
“Rosa saved it.”
His face changed.
I placed the torn interview letter on the counter.
“Why?”
Ethan stared at it.
“Why were you throwing these away?”
He slowly sank into a chair.
For once, I didn’t help him find the right words.
Finally, he said, “When you weren’t working, you needed me for everything.”
I folded my arms.
“You paid the bills. You kept us afloat.”
“It was more than that, Mal.”
He rubbed his palms together.
“You asked what I thought. You waited for me to come home. When another rejection arrived, I was the person you wanted.”
My chest tightened.
“And when I started working again?”
“You changed.”
“I recovered.”
“I know.”
“Then say what you mean.”
His eyes filled.
“I got used to being needed, Mal.”
I stayed perfectly still.
“When you started doing well again, I was proud of you. But every promotion, every recruiter, made me feel like I was losing my place.”
“So you sabotaged them.”
His face crumpled.
“Yes.”
The word sat heavily between us.
“It started with one letter,” he continued. “Then an email. And once, when someone called, I told them you weren’t interested.”
I stared at him.
“And afterward?”
He looked down.
“I comforted you.”
“While I thought I’d failed.”
He said nothing.
“Why?”
His voice broke.
“Because when you were disappointed, you came back to me. You needed me again.”
I stepped away from the counter.
“It was selfish,” he whispered. “But I didn’t want you powerless.”
I looked at him.
“You just didn’t want me fully independent either.”
He covered his face.
“No.”
For the first time, he wasn’t trying to make the truth smaller.
Neither was I.
