In it she complained that Daniel had borrowed against their home and hidden the extent of his business debts.

She was furious about being deceived, and her account of the past months made me suspect she’d been living inside a different version of the same false story.

I wanted to feel vindicated.

Instead I felt weary.

One evening, Nina asked, “Do you blame her for everything?”

“No.

I blame her for making me feel small, for ignoring what smoke did to my lungs, and for standing there when he hit me.”

“And Daniel?”