There was no answer, and I wasn’t foolish enough to expect one.

“I kept thinking trusting Mark meant giving him the benefit of every doubt.

But I let my own name disappear.

I let people call it his company and his house because I believed correcting them would sound selfish.”

I looked at the grass beneath my shoes.

“You did the paperwork because you wanted me protected.

I mistook protection for a lack of faith in my marriage.”

I stood there for a while, thinking about all the things Manuel would have said if he were still alive.