For the first time, the proposed solution didn’t involve my unpaid labor.
Heather sent one final message.
You were always good to my kids. I’m sorry we made you feel like that meant you owed us something.
I read it carefully before responding.
I love those kids. That was never the problem.
She replied:
I know that now.
I put my phone away.
There were still plenty of practical matters ahead.
Seth and I had wedding bills to divide, gifts to return, personal belongings to exchange, and difficult questions to answer.
Some of his relatives might never understand why I’d canceled the ceremony.
They might accuse me of overreacting or insist I should have given him another chance.
Others would probably argue that marriage required compromise.
I didn’t disagree with the importance of compromise.
But genuine compromise meant two people deciding together.
It couldn’t begin with deception.
