But Raymond did not look like a man who had won a clever game.

He looked utterly shattered, and I understood that being proven right about the people you love is one of the loneliest things that can happen to a person.

“The money was never really the test, Giselle,” he said then, so gently it nearly undid me.

“The real test was much smaller than that.

The real test was whether anyone would bring me a simple glass of water, when I could no longer pay them to do it.” He reached out and closed his trembling hand around mine.

“And you were the only one who came back.”