“Thanks for coming,” she said as I sat beside her. It was almost like we didn’t even live together. But we hadn’t been.
Not really. Natalie had spent most nights at her parents’ house.
“I don’t want a divorce, Ethan,” she said.
“My parents don’t believe in it. I made a mistake. And I’ll fix it.”
“You had our child baptized behind my back,” I said quietly.
“You lied for weeks. You planned it.”
“I thought I was protecting her. I thought maybe it would give Lily something good…
for her soul.”
“But it wasn’t your decision to make alone,” I countered. “We decide things together. That was the whole point of marriage.”
“I was scared of disappointing my mom,” she whispered.
Her silence said everything.
“You didn’t just lie to me, you removed me.
As a partner. As a father. You made me irrelevant.”
“I didn’t think it would go this far,” tears welled in her eyes.
“But it did.”
We sat in silence for a long time.
A breeze kicked up, lifting her hair slightly. She didn’t reach for my hand. I didn’t offer mine.
I still love our life together,” she said.
“Nothing is the same, Nat. I believe you, but love isn’t enough. Not after this.”
I stood up.
“What now?” she asked, hopeful.
I shook my head slowly.
“I don’t know.
But right now? I don’t trust you. And I don’t know if I ever will.
We’ll have to see what we can do about co-parenting Lily, but I can’t do this anymore.”
I took one last glance at the lake, then walked away. There was nothing left to say. I don’t know what we’re going to do next.
What would you have done?
