Chapter 11 - I Asked Madison Whether She Still Wanted Me
Not:
Did she still love me?
Love was no longer the most useful question.
We sat in a therapist’s office.
Neutral place.
No Evelyn.
No attorneys.
I asked:
“Do you still want this marriage?”
Madison thought for almost a full minute.
“I don’t know.”
It hurt.
Good.
I deserved an answer she did not soften.
“I love you.”
“That’s not enough.”
“I know.”
She looked surprised.
“What do you want me to say?”
“Nothing.”
Then:
“I need to know what you do when your mother cries.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“When Evelyn says I destroyed the family.”
“She already has.”
“What did you do?”
I thought about it.
“I told her we wouldn’t discuss you.”
“Why not tell her she was wrong?”
“Because some things she said weren’t entirely wrong.”
Madison waited.
“She was wrong to control you. Wrong to use money. Wrong about the trust. Wrong about the bedroom.”
I swallowed.
“But I trained her to think my marriage could become a threat to the family assets.”
Madison nodded.
“And Chloe?”
“I trained her to expect rescue.”
“Me?”
I looked at her.
“I trained you to stop expecting me to notice.”
That was the first time Madison cried.
Quietly.
May you like
Not because the sentence fixed anything.
Because I had finally described my part without turning it into good intentions.
