me.”
The therapist asked, “And what do you understand now?”
Daniel’s eyes filled with tears.
“That I mistook her willingness to keep trying for a guarantee that she would never leave.”
I looked down at my hands.
That was the truth I had struggled to explain.
I had stayed through years of frustration because I loved him. Daniel had interpreted my staying as evidence that nothing he did could fundamentally change our relationship.
He had mistaken patience for permission.
He had mistaken silence after an argument for forgiveness.
He had
