Chapter 12 - Ethan Had To Admit The Affair Was Not His Only Betrayal
Ethan apologized for cheating repeatedly.
For months, I barely cared.
Not because adultery was small.
Because he kept apologizing for the easiest part.
“I’m sorry I slept with her.”
Fine.
“What else?”
He hated that question.
Eventually, in mediation, he answered it.
“I’m sorry I made you sound crazy when I was frustrated.”
“What else?”
“I’m sorry I told her private things.”
“What else?”
“I’m sorry I let her become familiar with the children while I knew our relationship wasn’t professional anymore.”
That one mattered.
“What else?”
He looked exhausted.
Then finally:
“I’m sorry I complained about being trapped instead of telling you I wanted something to change.”
There.
The affair had not begun because Lauren hypnotized him.
The custody draft had not emerged from nothing.
Ethan had spent months outsourcing honesty.
He told Lauren what he should have told me.
Then Lauren acted on a version of our marriage built almost entirely from his resentment.
That did not make her innocent.
May you like
It made the causal chain complete.
I could understand it without excusing either of them.
