He hoped that selling the house and downsizing would preserve her future. He listed the steps carefully. “It was the only thing I could think of,” he said. The words hurt. The house had meant permanence to her. Hearing it reduced to a strategy revealed how differently they had been living inside the same walls together.
He showed her spreadsheets, timelines, and contingencies. Numbers filled gaps words hadn’t. “I thought I was being responsible…toward you, toward us,” he said quietly. She did see the effort and care. Laura also saw a future designed without her voice, consent, or a shared decision-making process.