I had thought it made me generous, made me better than the pettiness that usually surrounds a divided inheritance.

And her laugh on that recording was the sound of my generosity being played back to me as foolishness.

She had let me choose her, let me open my family to her, and used the opening to get close enough to help end me.

There is no defending against that, and I have stopped trying to feel I should have.

You cannot armor yourself against the people you love without becoming someone who loves no one.