But Ava went on. She sighed and added, “The problem is, there’s no us anymore, so any hope of salvaging what was once there is already gone.”
For the first time in a long time, I agreed with her. “She’s right. Marriage counseling isn’t going to help. Ava and I spent two years in therapy at the Institute. Takahashi’s a great therapist, and if he can’t fix my brain then no one can.”
“See what I mean, Daddy?” Ava’s voice cracked. “He won’t even try! Funny you have excuses now, Charlie, when you used to be more than willing to share in group therapy at the Institute.”
“That’s because I had to, not because I wanted to.”
“You’d do it if you wanted to fix this marriage,” Ava demanded. “You’d do it if you really cared about Casey!”
“Don’t you ever accuse me of not caring about my son!” I shouted. “This is why it can never work between us, because whenever you aren’t getting your way, you have to drive the knife in and twist it! You always want me to hurt more than you’re hurting, and that’s why you want to take Casey away— not because it’s what’s best for him, but because you can’t stand the thought of me experiencing any amount of joy!”
“It’s not working because you’ve given up!” Ava shouted. “Charlie, all I want is for you to fucking try.”
“I’ve tried everything, and you’ve made it pretty damn clear you don’t want anything to do with me!” My voice began to waver, too, but I managed to hold it together— because Casey needed me to, and I’d be damned if his mother got the best of me on this one. “I’m willing to give you what you want, but you clearly don’t know what that is, so don’t blame me when it’s literally impossible to make you happy, because nothing I ever do will be good enough for you!”
Ava scoffed. “You’re such a bastard. Typical man, willing to do everything to fix the relationship except talk about his feelings.”
“I’ve done that for three fucking years, and where has it gotten us? Nowhere! What more do you want from me!?”
“I want you to fight for me as hard as you’re fighting for Casey!” Ava screamed, her voice echoing off the walls of the training center.
The room faded to silence, and all conscious thought halted with it. Never did I think Ava actually wanted me to fight for her— not in this reality, and not the next. Since she’d served me those papers, I’d been waiting around for her to tell me where to sign them, because I thought, above all else, she wanted to be done with me.
But then Hemlock died, we lost the Divinity Keys, and Casey came along all in a short amount of time. I figured the papers were inevitable, we just hadn’t gotten around to actually signing them.
When she asked me to fight for her, I realized the truth I’d been too blind to see. Ava didn’t want to sign those papers to be done with me… all she wanted was to be done with this— this fighting, this bickering, this broken love.
But maybe it didn’t have to die at the end of a pen. Maybe we could end this without ending us.
To be given the opportunity to try again made me want to fall at her feet and give her everything she’d ever desired. The devil himself knew I didn’t deserve another chance, but by all the gods in all the pantheons, Ava-Marie was offering me this incredible opportunity I never could’ve dreamed would be granted. I couldn’t fumble this, for it was such a precious gift to be able to serve her, to become a better man and try again.
“I— I didn’t know you wanted to stay together,” I stammered.
“I want to. I just can’t anymore,” Ava said softly. “Charlie, this thing between us is killing me. But if you put in the work and prove to me there’s still something to fight for between us, then I’ll give this one last shot.”
Her voice developed a hard edge. “But you have to be willing to get uncomfortable. You can’t shut down again, and you can’t give up. This is it, Charlie. No more chances. You either go to marriage counseling, or we’re done. If you say no, I’ll go get the paperwork and we’ll sign it right here, right now.”
My world had been shifted on its head once again. I never imagined Ava and I would get another chance. I thought all opportunities to fix our marriage were over. But here we were, Ava begging me to try one last time. It was more than I could ask for.
But I’d been burned before, and I worried that the wrong therapist— someone like Jaymin— would make things worse. What’s more, I’d already hurt Ava too much. I feared what might come out in therapy would hurt her beyond repair.
“I want to try,” I finally said. “But I can’t risk hurting us any more than I already have.”
“You can’t hurt us more than you already have,” Ava said. “Go ahead and ruin me, but at least be honest while you’re doing it. That will hurt a whole lot less than you hiding your feelings and doing shit behind my back.”
“If you want me to agree to this, you have to cut me a deal,” I said flatly. “You can’t go off the wall and do scary shit based on whatever I say. You have to control your reactions so I don’t have to worry you’ll try to burn the palace down if I piss you off.”
“Fine. Done,” Ava stated simply. “I promise I won’t act like a lunatic.”
“That’s not?—”
“I know what you meant.” Ava’s tone was dry. “I solemnly swear I won’t resort to violence, erratic behavior, or drastic measures no matter what comes out of your mouth.”
Here’s hoping. I sighed. “I don’t even know who we could talk to. Who’s equipped to handle this kind of mess?”
This wasn’t just saving a marriage now. This had turned into a custody battle along the way, and those were the ugliest types of situations there were. Casey wasn’t a rag doll meant to be yanked back and forth between us until he was torn to shreds. We had to sort this out, but we couldn’t do it without help. I didn’t know a single person who’d be willing to get in the middle of two crazies— because that’s what we were— fighting over a baby.
“You two aren’t alone,” Sophia cut in. “In our tribe, the elders mentor the newlywed couples, guiding them through early marriage life. Liam and I have experience in this area. If you don’t want to talk to someone you don’t know, you can talk to us. Liam and I will give you marriage counseling in the tradition of our ancestral teachings as an alternative to modern counseling.”
