lmost immediate

ed with his family, the language he reverted to when he lost all semblance

voice cold and steady. "I don' t und

roared, switching to heavily accented Eng

m off. "Nine a.m. At the courth

d silence on the other end o

m back to confirm. The call wouldn

e felt cornered, he would block me. In the past, I would have panicked. I would have called from a different number,

ved him

xhaustion from seven years of loving a man w

arming, intense, and brilliant, with a fire in his eyes that promised to burn down the world. Back then, he was

reated me like a goddess, lik

peeches, crafted his strategies, networked with donors. We went from a tiny apart

I loved disappeared, replaced by a cold, ruthless polit

home, Ally-cat," he' d said. "My father' s health is failin

e spotlight so he could shine brighter. Because I loved him,

s grew into a chasm. I knew something was wrong, but I held on, telling myse

his supposed "one that got away," moved back to the city. The

re endless, vicious, and draining. We gre