The next morning, Daniel sent me a written timeline detailing what Nathan had told him and when. Then I hired an attorney. With her help, I requested every document I had a legal right to see: transfers from my accounts, correspondence mentioning me, and records connected to the complaint.
For the first time in years, I stopped trying to understand Nathan through love.
I began understanding him through evidence.
A week later, he appeared at my apartment holding flowers, with a folded letter tucked inside his coat.
When I opened the door, he looked ruined.
“Please,” he said. “Just let me explain everything properly.”
His silence answered my question before he spoke.
By then, the pain had already dulled.
“I know how this looks,” he said.
“No,” I said. “You know how it is.”
He flinched.
“I loved you.”
“I think you did,” I said. “But not more than you loved what I made possible.”
Without warning, he began to cry. To his credit, he did not turn it into a dramatic performance, but I could no longer summon much sympathy.
I kept one hand against the door.
“You became a doctor because I believed in you,” I said. “Now it’s time I put that same faith in myself.”
