the way…” He struggled with the words. “It stopped being only about him.”
My chest tightened. “What did it become?”
“A life I started imagining.” He looked ashamed. “A bedroom for Lily upstairs. Breakfast with both of you. Helping with school. You coming home.”
He rubbed his hands together. “I never planned to tell you. I never intended to pressure you. But I realized I’d started changing my house around a future that existed only in my head.”
We sat in silence.
Then Gerald said quickly, “I can stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Coming around so much. Helping. Anything that makes this uncomfortable.” He looked at me. “You can keep your position at work. Nothing has to change professionally.”
For one terrifying second, I wanted to let him do exactly that.
Because staying would be easier. Gerald was safe. He was familiar. Lily adored him. My mortgage existed. School fees existed. Life
