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you should probably pack your bags and go back to. . . yoga .”
    “Or I can go out for a few hours, give us some space to truly think over things, and return to my husband and my beautiful kids.”
    “I'll still want a counselor involved. We both need one, Janet. Neither one of us is perfect. I'm just as at fault in our marriage being destroyed as you.”
    “Don't do this, right now. I'm tired from yoga and I've just had a long day.” The heels click into the hall, just as I was going to rush up the stairs, they sounded in the opposite direction. “I'm going for a drink or two and then we need to talk.”
    The door slammed. Minutes later her car started and she sped off.
    Should I go to him?
    I didn't know what this meant for them and me. Their argument could just be the first of many more to come and not this final chapter in their life.
    Just go upstairs. You've got all you'll get from him. Like he said, maybe he's too damaged. Maybe I should just walk away.
    But I couldn't.
    I go down the few stairs, step out of the shadows, and find him with both of his hands planted on the edge of the counter.
    “Blake?” I walked over to him. “Are you okay?”
    “You heard what happened?” He didn't look up.
    “Yes.”
    “Was I wrong to say we needed help?”
    “No. You're completely right. If you both were going to work out, it would be from someone helping you that knew how to repair broken marriages.”
    He looked up at me. “How broken do you think we are?”
    I gave him a pitiful smile. “I'm biased in this situation. Does it matter what I think?”
    “Yes. It actually does. How broken do you think Janet and I are?”
    I don't have to answer his question, but the words sit in my heart to the point that I'm forced to let them all out. “I think you both are so shattered that you'll never find the pieces to put each other back together again.”
    “Which is why you should run very far away from me.”
    “Never.”
    He closes his eyes. “I'm about to say something that may ruin you.”
    Please don't tell me he's going to break my heart again.
    “What?” It comes out hoarse and drenched in fear.
    He opens his eyes and set his gaze on me. “I love you and I'm going to divorce Janet.”
    “What?” I screech.
    “Since the moment Janet walked into the dining room while we were eating and said she was coming back, I realized that I had to divorce her. Not because all of the crap that she'd put me through, but because of the heart broken expression on your face. In that night, I understood that not only did you have strong feelings for me, but that I had already fallen for you. Because I couldn't bare to see the pain on your face, not for one second.”
    “But you pushed me away.”
    “Of course I did. I love you, but I'm not too selfish to admit that you should have much better than me, so I pushed you away and decided not to tell you about the divorce. Although I started the paperwork with my lawyers, I kept it quiet. I know the best thing for you is somewhere far away from the drama in my life.”
    “That's stupid. You can't love me that much if you would just push me away.”
    “I fucking love you. How the hell couldn't I? You've taken the broken bits of me and glued them back together again. You've put my kids back on the right track. You've nurtured and showed us more love than anyone else has ever considered. I'm in love with you.”
    My fingers shake. I'm beyond shocked. My nerves flare within my skin. I'm a jittery bundle of chaos.
    “Goddamn it.” He hits the counter. “I love you so much, I tried to give you an out and push you away.”
    “That's so stupid.” I run my shivering fingers through my hair. “All this time you kept pushing me away for nothing?”
    “You're twenty. You shouldn't be bound to some thirty-five year old broken man that has kids and businesses to save. The twenties are the years that are the most carefree. When Janet came back, I knew the truth about my life. That it