Chapter 12 - We Did Not Save Our Marriage by Pretending the Camera Solved It
For almost four months, Ethan and I lived:
together
but:
separately.
He moved into the guest room.
No unsupervised garage projects with:
Chloe.
All high-risk household items:
removed entirely
or secured in ways neither parent could casually bypass.
Not because I became:
warden.
Because we created:
shared rules.
Ethan attended:
parenting-focused therapy,
individual therapy.
We did:
couples counseling.
I did not immediately decide:
divorce.
Some people thought I should.
Others:
“accidents happen.”
Both responses annoyed me.
Yes.
Accidents happen.
But this was not only:
accident.
The chain was:
Ethan undermined a safety boundary.
Handled dangerous objects around a child.
Left them accessible.
Then blamed me while knowing he created the access.
That last part threatened the marriage most.
I asked him during therapy:
“If there had been no camera, what would you have done?”
He stared.
Our therapist waited.
Finally:
“I don’t know.”
“Wrong.”
“You know.”
He cried.
Then:
“I think I would have let you believe you left the cabinet unlocked.”
There.
That was almost worse than:
everything.
I left the session.
Not dramatically.
I needed:
air.
When I returned, I said:
“That is the part I don’t know how to forgive.”
Not:
magnets.
The willingness to let reality become:
mine
instead of:
his.
May you like
That required a different kind of repair.
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