Chapter 17 - THE MARRIAGE CRACKSCounseling did not fix Nora and Ethan.
At first, it made things worse.
Their therapist, Dr. Lena Morris, asked Ethan:
“What were you protecting when you kept surveillance from Nora?”
“My mother.”
“Why?”
“Because if Nora knew, she would confront her.”
“And?”
“My family would split.”
Dr. Morris nodded.
“So you allowed your wife to doubt her own perception in order to preserve family stability.”
Ethan looked sick.
“Yes.”
Nora stared at the floor.
The therapist turned to her.
“What did that cost you?”
“Trust.”
“In Ethan?”
“In myself.”
That answer made the room silent.
Nora continued.
“I kept seeing Derek and telling myself I was being paranoid because the people closest to me said I was stressed.”
Ethan covered his face.
“I’m sorry.”
Dr. Morris stopped him.
“Don’t use apology to end discomfort.”
Ethan lowered his hands.
Nora almost smiled.
Finally somebody else said it.
The sessions became brutal.
They discussed Celeste.
Money.
The miscarriage.
Warren.
Ethan’s lifelong need for his mother’s approval.
Nora’s habit of staying calm until she exploded.
Neither spouse left looking heroic.
That helped.
Real marriages rarely broke because one person was entirely good and another entirely bad.
But betrayal still had an owner.
Ethan owned his.
One evening after therapy he asked:
“Do you miss me?”
Nora answered honestly.
“Yes.”
Hope.
Then:
“That doesn’t mean I trust you.”
“I know.”
“Do you miss me?”
“Every hour.”
Nora’s throat tightened.
“Then why does this still feel impossible?”
Ethan looked at her.
“Because love survived before trust did.”
She started crying.
He did not touch her.
He waited.
May you like
When Nora finally took his hand, he held it.
Only then.
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