"You knew they were planning to outbid me by millions of dollars. And you didn't tell me. You let me keep hoping, keep fighting, keep believing that maybe the advocacy group would help, when you knew the whole time it was already over."
"I didn't know what to do," I admit. "I was caught between the company and you, and I didn't know how to—"
"You knew exactly what to do."
Her voice is hard again. "You just didn't want to do it because it would have cost you something."
She's right. She's completely right.
And I have nothing to say that will fix this, no explanation that will make it better.
I made my choices—dozens of small choices that all pointed in the same direction. Away from vulnerability. Away from trust. Away from the kind of love that requires risking everything.
"I asked you for help," Rosanna says, and now there are tears on her face again.
"I asked my husband to help fund a legal advocacy group for a cause I cared about. And you made it about NDAs and oversight and whether I was using you."
She wipes at the tears. "You made me feel like asking for help meant I was trying to manipulate you, when really you were the one manipulating everything. Managing both relationships, controlling all the information, making sure you never had to actually be vulnerable with me."
"I'm sorry."
The words feel completely inadequate. "I'm so sorry, Rosanna. I was scared. But my feelings for you are real. I love you."
"Stop." She holds up a hand. "Just stop."
She adjusts her laptop bag on her shoulder. She’s leaving.
This isn't just a fight we're going to work through.
This is ending.
Right now. Right here.
"Rosanna, please—" I move toward her, but she steps back.
"I'm going to stay with Luna for a while. I need space to figure out what I'm going to do."
"What you're going to do?" The words come out panicked. "What does that mean?"
"It means I don't know if I can stay married to someone who lies to me."
"The marriage contract—" I start, and immediately realize it's the wrong thing to say.
"Is six months long with a clean exit." She finishes the sentence for me. "I know. I signed it too, remember? Back when I thought this was just a business arrangement and I'd never be stupid enough to actually fall in love with you."
The words hit like a physical blow. She loves me. Or she did.
"But it's time I take that option you gave me of leaving before the six months are up. I'll have Tessa contact you about next steps," Rosanna says, and she's moving toward the door now. "ERS has protocols for when marriages become adversarial. Apparently this isn't the first time someone's personal and professional interests have collided in a way that makes the relationship untenable."
"This isn't adversarial," I say desperately. "We can work through this. I'll tell the board to back off the Heritage Street acquisition. I'll sign the advocacy group retainer right now."
"It's too late for that, Seamus."
She turns back at the door.
A beat.
"And I can't build a life with someone who thinks honesty is optional and trust is something you can get by being dishonest."
