Ch. 13: The Price of Silence

If someone had told her a year ago that she would be standing here, she would have laughed.

She remembered the first time, and the last, and all the ordinary days in between that had somehow mattered more. "I'm not asking you to forgive me," Sophia said. "I'm asking you to listen."

For a heartbeat the careful distance between them thinned to nothing at all. There was a history between them that neither would name, written in the things they did not do. She remembered the first time, and the last, and all the ordinary days in between that had somehow mattered more.

Sophia crossed the room slowly, aware of every step, of the way he was watching without seeming to. For a heartbeat the careful distance between them thinned to nothing at all. There was a history between them that neither would name, written in the things they did not do.

Every choice had a price. Sophia had known that for years, and still the knowing never made it easier.

She remembered the first time, and the last, and all the ordinary days in between that had somehow mattered more. "I'm not asking you to forgive me," Sophia said. "I'm asking you to listen."

He watched her go and understood, too late, that he had already made his choice.