sent that one instead.
His response arrived five minutes later.
Thanks, sweetheart. Love you.
I put my phone facedown on the desk.
For the first time in eleven years, those three words didn’t comfort me.
They made me wonder how many times a person could say them while concealing something important.
Chapter Two: The First Lie I Couldn’t Explain Away
When Eliam arrived home that evening, I was sitting at the kitchen table, pretending to read a magazine.
He entered carrying his laptop bag, loosened his tie, and sighed dramatically.
