He was manipulated by a con man and he was, himself, a liar and a coward and a thief, and both of those things are true, and the second does not excuse the first.

When I finally confronted him, weeks later, in his attorney’s office, he looked as though he had aged ten years in a month.

“I never wanted to hurt you, Valeria,” he whispered, his hands trembling on the table.

“You used me,” I said, “while looking me in the eye and telling me you loved me.

Whatever you wanted, that is what you did.”

“At first I thought I could handle all of it,” he said, brokenly.