The silence that followed was different from our usual disagreements. It wasn’t defensive. It wasn’t dismissive.

It was reflective.

For the first time, I saw it register on his face—the discomfort, the insecurity, the unease I had been carrying quietly for months.

He didn’t argue that night. He didn’t accuse me of anything.

He just went quiet.

The next morning, he approached me with his phone in his hand.

“I sent Sarah a message,” he said.