Chapter 11 - LENORA HAD ALSO BEEN LYING TO ME
My relationship with Lenora almost broke after the big twist.
Not because of Sterling.
Because I learned she had known about Thatcher’s temper.
Not the slap.
Not exactly.
But enough.
Two years before our wedding, Thatcher shoved a former business partner during an argument.
One year before, he punched a wall hard enough to fracture a knuckle after Sterling threatened to remove him from a project.
Lenora knew both.
She never told me.
I confronted her.
“You knew he could get physical.”
She cried immediately.
“That is not the same as hitting a woman.”
I stared.
She heard herself.
“Sorry.”
“No. Finish.”
“I thought he was different with you.”
“Why?”
“Because he loved you.”
I laughed once.
“That sentence needs to die in this family.”
Lenora covered her face.
“I know.”
“Did you ever think I deserved to know?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
Her answer hurt more than I expected.
“I wanted you to marry him.”
Silence.
“Why?”
“Because he was better with you.”
I went cold.
“You thought I could fix him.”
“No.”
“Lenora.”
“Yes.”
There it was.
She had looked at me and seen hope.
Not maliciously.
Desperately.
Thatcher drank less when we were together.
Worked fewer late nights.
Argued with Sterling less.
Talked about therapy once.
Lenora convinced herself marriage would stabilize him.
“I used you.”
Her voice broke.
“Not consciously. But I did.”
I stood.
“I need you to leave.”
She nodded.
No argument.
At the door she turned.
“I’m sorry.”
I believed her.
I still closed the door.
For three months, we barely spoke.
That distance mattered.
Lenora could be a victim of Sterling and still have failed me.
I could help her leave that marriage and still refuse to become the woman assigned to repair her son.
May you like
The Reed family had spent decades merging roles until nobody knew where love ended and obligation began.
I was learning separation.
