to punish her.
Not to prove a point.
I simply wasn’t ready.
The wound was still open.
I didn’t trust myself to answer without either surrendering again or saying something designed to hurt her.
I wanted neither.
So I left the message unread in every emotional sense that mattered and went to bed.
Some conversations need silence before they can hold words.
A month after the wedding, I was promoted.
Senior manager.
Corner office.
A modest raise.
More importantly, acknowledgment for work I had already been doing for two years
