"When did you tell me you loved me cleanly, with nothing left to confess?"
Daniel's jaw tightened. "Rehearsal dinner. The night before."
"And you said it knowing Eli existed."
"Yes."
"Did you ever plan to tell me before the vows?"
Silence. Carol waited. Daniel looked at his hands.
"I told myself I would tell you on the honeymoon. Or after we got back. I kept moving the date. I was afraid you would leave."
"I would have," Madison said. The charcoal blazer felt like armor that still breathed. "And that fear does not make what you did love. It makes it hostage-taking with a ring."