I showed up at the hospital to surprise my husband during his shift. But the second one of his coworkers saw me, all the color left his face. Then his eyes filled with tears. “He hasn’t said a word to you, has he?” Ben and I had been married eleven years, and for every one of those years, I had shared him with the hospital. He was a remarkably gifted surgeon.

“And you decided the easiest way out was to let Walsh ruin you.”

Brian looked down at his hands and couldn’t answer.

I reached across the dark table and took his shaking fingers in mine.

“I’m still badly hurt by the way you lied to me, Brian, and that anger isn’t just going to disappear overnight.”

He nodded slowly, tears shining on his cheeks.

“You lied to me every single morning, you forged my name on a loan, and you made me deceive our daughter.”

“I know, Hannah, and I hate myself for doing it.”