I told everyone I'd panicked. That pregnancy had made me fragile and unpredictable. That he'd done everything right and that I'd humiliated him for no reason. He was truly skilled at making things seem reasonable, softening his attitude with enough charm to make people accept his version of events without hesitation.
I'd seen him do it for years with little things.
I wouldn't have let him do that with this.
When Emily came up and found me standing in the middle of the room with tears drying my face, she stopped in the doorway and looked at me the way close friends do when they know something is seriously wrong.
I closed the door and told him everything.
When I finished, I wasn't calm. But I quickly calmed down, as good people do when someone they love needs them.
"Claire, you can't marry him," she said.
"I know," I said. But I'm about to fall.
He stared at me for a long time.
"Tell me what you need."
