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“I can’t give you a real answer based on a hypothetical.”
She sat forward, her body leaning over the table. “If Ivory slept with another man, for any reason under the fucking sun, would you forgive her?”
I saw the world in black and white, right and wrong, lie and truth. If a woman betrayed me, we would be done. I wouldn’t even give her the chance to apologize. But with Ivory, my wife, the mother of my children, the world turned gray. “I can’t live without her…” I wouldn’t have the self-respect to walk away. I wouldn’t have the strength to move on with someone else. “I would much rather work on our marriage than let it die—because it’s worth fighting for. I work hard to make my wife happy and satisfied and ensure she has no reason to ever walk away, because I would die if she ever did.”
“So, this is my fault?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then you implied it.”
“A tragedy struck your family, and you reacted to it. Ian reacted to your reaction. That’s all I’m saying. You’ve been together for over twenty years and have a beautiful daughter. And I don’t need to tell you how much Ian loves you—because you already know.”
Now she looked away, her arms still tight over her chest.
“You both made mistakes. Let them go and save this marriage.”
“I didn’t make a mistake—”
“You pushed your husband away for months. That’s unacceptable. Grieve all you want, but there’s no reason your husband can’t be a part of that. It doesn’t justify what he did, but you hurt him too. While you were grieving the loss of a child that was never going to make it, he was grieving the loss of his wife.”
“Don’t you think you’re biased—”
“I was disappointed when Ian told me what he did. I made that disappointment well-known. You’re a good woman and a part of this family, and you deserve greater respect than that. But I don’t think your hands are clean either. You love each other—and that’s all that matters. Put this behind you and move on.”
Her eyes dropped to the table.
“Avice.”
“I don’t look at him the same anymore.”
Like my heart was the one on the line, it shattered into infinite pieces.
“I’ll always picture him with that other woman.”
“He hasn’t been with anyone since.”
“Doesn’t change anything.” Her eyes remained down on the table. “I needed his commitment when we were married.”
“Youaremarried.”
“Not in my eyes.”
“But you are in the eyes of the gods. Therefore, you are. Your souls are bound together, destined to be united in eternity. That’s the promise you made to each other—”
“Did Ian remember that promise when he stuck his dick in someone else? Did he think about our souls being linked together for all eternity? No, all he thought about was getting his dick wet.”
I’d been there for an hour and had made no progress whatsoever.
“Huntley, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but this is between Ian and me. He shouldn’t have asked you to intervene in his fuckup.”
“He didn’t ask me.”
Her eyes softened.
“This relationship is worth fighting for—and you’ve forgotten that.”
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