Chapter 16 - SAMUEL ENDS THE ENGAGEMENT
Samuel waited six weeks.
He spoke to Dorothy.
He spoke to his sons.
He met once with her therapist.
Then he ended the engagement.
Quietly.
No tabloid statement.
No revenge.
His letter to Dorothy became relevant later only because she discussed it in testimony.
He wrote:
I believe you love me.
I also believe the wedding became more important to you than the person you were marrying.
If Isabella had gone into labor in the front row, I would have stopped the ceremony.
If Ethan had fainted, I would have stopped.
If you had chest pain, I would have stopped.
There was never an eighteen-minute promise between us because vows mean nothing if they require ignoring people to protect them.
Dorothy called him cruel.
Then later admitted he was right.
He did not return.
That consequence belonged to the relationship she had tried hardest to preserve.
May you like
I felt no pleasure.
Almost none.
