Page 241 of The Defiant Curse

“I did that before, Lyzee, my love, and it forced you to stay in Damascus. That didn’t end well. It nearly cost me you, and that’s not a price I’m ever willing to pay.”

Yeah, but she wasn’t upset at him.

That wasn’t how she felt.

“I can hate Damascus and still be madly in love with you, EJ. I can hate being out there, but still love being who I am. Take me out of the equation. Go from there. We’ve always made it work, and we always will. One day, I want to be in a tote bin rattling around with your bones.”

That amused him.

“We’re being cremated. We’ll have to be ash-to-ash.”

She snorted, and he gave her a kiss.

“Thank you for letting me talk it out. I appreciate it,” he admitted.

A.

LOT.

There was nothing better than having a spouse who let them work through shit without judgment.

Honestly, Elizabeth didn’t mind being there for them. This was a weight she couldn’t carry. What happened had to be Ethan’s choice.

Not.

Hers.

“Now, though, we need to work on this mess here, and then, maybe later, we can regroup. I don’t mind you leaning on me when you need help.”

He could see that.

There was a difference between leaning and dumping, and he was going to make sure he did the former and avoided the latter. His spouses shouldn’t have to carry his mess or clean it up.

But they could walk with him.

They were both learning that.

Getting up, she held out her hand.

“Right now, Michael is wondering if I’m melting down, Gabby is eating my food, and Graham is trying to get me more dogs. One of those things is not like the other…”

He laughed.

“Then, we’d better get our asses over there. FAST.”

Heading out of the library, they walked toward the kitchen, and once there, they found the three people eating in silence. It was the kind of silence that said, ‘I feel helpless’.

Welcome to her world.

“You guys can chill out. I’m not melting down,” she admitted. “We’re good. There’s no mental health crisis happening. I travel with a pocket therapist,” she joked.

Gabby sighed.

“Thank God, but now I feel bad for eating your bacon. If it’s any consolation, it was terrible. Terrible, terrible bacon.”

Ethan just laughed.

It appeared that his wife had nailed that.