I sat on the floor.
The silence was unbearable.
For years, I’d imagined that if I ever moved away from
Dominic, I would feel free.
Instead, I felt hollow.
I had escaped a marriage that had steadily erased me.
But the little girl who made that marriage worth fighting for was gone.
No new job could change that.
No apartment could change it.
No distance could change it.
I cried until my throat hurt.
Then I picked up Sophie’s rabbit and held it against my chest.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Dominic.
Please call me.
Then another.
I understand you’re angry, but we need to talk.
And another.
I love you.
I stared at those three words.
There had been a time when they would have been enough.
Not anymore.
I opened my laptop and wrote a message to my attorney, Rebecca Sloan, who was coordinating with Canadian counsel about my relocation, finances, and separation.
