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« That wasn’t your decision to make for me, » I said.
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« I watched what fourteen months did to you, » Griffin said. « I watched you fall asleep standing up in the kitchen more than once. I watched you cry in the bathroom when you thought I couldn’t hear you through the door. I am not going to ask you to sign up for that as a permanent condition of our marriage, Simone. Not when I have a legitimate way out of it that doesn’t require you to actually leave me yourself. »
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« So instead, » I said, « you decided to leave me first. Without asking me a single question about what I actually wanted. »
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« I know how you’d answer, » Griffin said. « You’d say you’re staying no matter what. That’s exactly why I couldn’t ask you directly. I needed to make this decision before you had the chance to talk me out of doing the one thing I actually think is right here. »
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« You don’t get to decide what’s right for both of us alone, » I said. « Not after fourteen months of doing everything together. Not after eleven years of marriage before that. »
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