Chapter 14 - THE NIGHT HE ASKED FOR NOTHING
A year after our reunion, Adrian invited me to dinner.
Not at one of his hotels.
Not at an expensive restaurant.
At the little Italian restaurant beneath our first apartment.
It had reopened under new ownership.
The windows glowed warmly against the snow.
Inside, the tables were covered with red-and-white cloths.
I stood in the doorway.
“Adrian.”
He smiled.
“Remember?”
I laughed softly.
“How could I forget?”
We sat near the window.
He ordered the same pasta we used to share when we couldn't afford two meals.
For a while, we talked about the boys.
About school.
About work.
About ordinary things.
Then Adrian grew quiet.
“Claire.”
I looked up.
“I owe you an apology.”
I smiled sadly.
“You've apologized.”
“Not for everything.”
He took a breath.
“I made you feel alone while you were married to me.”
My throat tightened.
He continued.
“I let my mother humiliate you because I was afraid of losing her support.”
I looked down.
“And when you left, I told myself you were impatient.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“I know.”
He swallowed.
“I was wrong.”
Silence settled between us.
Then he said:
“I don't expect you to forgive me.”
I looked at him.
“But I hope someday you'll believe that I've learned how to be the man you needed.”
I studied his face.
The lines around his eyes.
The gray beginning to appear at his temples.
The man he had become.
Then I whispered:
“I already believe you've changed.”
His eyes filled.
I continued.
“But trust takes time.”
He nodded.
May you like
“I have time.”
And for the first time, I believed him.
