Not everything was a pretence.
That was the hardest thing.
If I could say he was never good to us, I’d have a simpler story.
But people are not consistent in the way we want them to.
His good years did not invalidate what he had done.
And his scary choice didn’t mean Emma had made up her good memories.
She had the right to protect them.
He had no obligation to use them as a reason to allow it close again.
His letter
Stefan wanted to see me.
I refused.
Then he sent a letter through his lawyer.
I read it myself.
It said he was cornered.
That he would never let Emma get hurt.
That he had received assurances.
That everything was presented as safe.
I reached that sentence and left the sheet.
He was still talking about his intentions as if they could delete the actions.
He didn’t have to want the worst to do something unbearable.
