{"id":22607,"date":"2026-09-27T15:24:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T15:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=22607"},"modified":"2026-09-27T15:24:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T15:24:26","slug":"part-26-ethans-question-was-no-longer-a-secret-but-nora-needed-one-promise-before-she-could-decide-what-marriage-would-mean-this-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=22607","title":{"rendered":"PART 26 \u2013 Ethan\u2019s Question Was No Longer a Secret, but Nora Needed One Promise Before She Could Decide What Marriage Would Mean This Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ethan did not propose that morning.<\/p>\n<p>I almost respected him for it.<\/p>\n<p>Almost.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, he confiscated Lily\u2019s access to his laptop and delivered a fifteen-minute lecture about privacy.<\/p>\n<p>Lily endured it with the expression of someone serving an unjust prison sentence.<\/p>\n<p>When he finished, she asked, \u201cCan I still pick the cake?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGo upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She disappeared.<\/p>\n<p>I waited until her footsteps reached the second floor.<\/p>\n<p>Then I looked at Ethan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou bought a ring?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou looked at rings?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not answering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause this conversation has already been hijacked enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were going to propose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was considering asking whether you wanted me to propose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I blinked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He leaned against the counter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to surprise you with a ring and an audience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is strangely romantic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I know what marriage means in your history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My smile softened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I wanted the decision before the performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was going to be a performance?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFlowers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLily holding a sign?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want you saying yes because Lily wants it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr because we\u2019ve been together a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr because you think it proves Gavin didn\u2019t ruin marriage for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That one hit.<\/p>\n<p>I looked away.<\/p>\n<p>Ethan waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave you thought that?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecently?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen don\u2019t answer yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re asking me not to marry you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m asking you to know why you would.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was infuriatingly sensible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re Lily\u2019s father in every way that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe already live like a family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo what exactly am I supposed to solve?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stepped closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarriage isn\u2019t a problem you have to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I crossed my arms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why do you want it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He took his time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I want to make that commitment with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe already committed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLegally, we can protect each other without marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re on Lily\u2019s school forms. We have powers of attorney. We did the estate planning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still want to marry you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The simplicity unsettled me more than an elaborate argument would have.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I want to call you my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to stand in front of the people we love and say I choose this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd because I want you to have the chance to choose marriage again on terms that belong entirely to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was the dangerous part.<\/p>\n<p>I shook my head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo marriage?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo to that reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want you marrying me to repair something Gavin broke.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou just said\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said I want you to have the choice. Not that I need to heal your history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I studied him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We stood in the kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>Then I said, \u201cI need one promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything I can honestly promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That qualification mattered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo secret financial decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgreed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo loans secured by joint property without both signatures in person with independent verification.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgreed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo investment that can materially affect our household without discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgreed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you ever feel trapped, unhappy, interested in someone else, afraid of telling me something\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His face became serious.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTell you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore I build another life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore I decide your reaction is inconvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I promise the same.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His shoulders relaxed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was going to be my condition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t get one. This is my interrogation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I became serious again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we marry, Lily does not become responsible for keeping us together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe never hears that we stayed because of her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe never becomes the messenger in an argument.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe never has to choose sides.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I breathed out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ethan\u2019s eyes widened slightly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m open to being asked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His mouth twitched.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is the least romantic acceptance I have ever heard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou haven\u2019t proposed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He kissed me.<\/p>\n<p>Upstairs, something crashed.<\/p>\n<p>We separated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLily?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m okay!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ethan closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFamily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour dream.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the next month, nothing happened.<\/p>\n<p>No proposal.<\/p>\n<p>At first I appreciated the patience.<\/p>\n<p>Then I became irritated.<\/p>\n<p>I had granted permission to ask.<\/p>\n<p>Why was he not asking?<\/p>\n<p>I refused to mention it.<\/p>\n<p>That became its own private comedy.<\/p>\n<p>Every dinner reservation seemed suspicious.<\/p>\n<p>Every walk.<\/p>\n<p>Every time Ethan knelt to tie his shoe, my heart jumped and then I hated myself.<\/p>\n<p>One Saturday, he suggested visiting the botanical garden.<\/p>\n<p>Suspicious.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Another evening, he cooked dinner.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>He asked me to walk outside after sunset.<\/p>\n<p>He wanted to show me a broken fence panel.<\/p>\n<p>I nearly murdered him.<\/p>\n<p>Finally I said, \u201cAre you enjoying this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We were in bed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnjoying what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He smiled into his book.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI learned from the best.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sentence could refer to several people and I dislike all possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Three days later, Harbor Rooms opened its fourth apartment.<\/p>\n<p>The family moving in had a six-year-old boy who carried a plastic dinosaur everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>I watched him place it carefully on the bedroom windowsill.<\/p>\n<p>His mother asked our coordinator whether she could change the lock herself.<\/p>\n<p>The coordinator explained the locks had already been replaced and only designated staff had emergency access.<\/p>\n<p>The woman asked to see the key log.<\/p>\n<p>We showed her.<\/p>\n<p>She cried.<\/p>\n<p>Quietly.<\/p>\n<p>That moment stayed with me.<\/p>\n<p>Not because I wanted to turn her relief into a metaphor.<\/p>\n<p>Because safety often lives in details.<\/p>\n<p>A lock.<\/p>\n<p>A signature.<\/p>\n<p>A person asking permission before entering.<\/p>\n<p>The things Gavin had treated as administrative obstacles were the architecture of trust.<\/p>\n<p>That afternoon, Daniel called.<\/p>\n<p>I had not heard from him in almost three weeks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything okay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why are you calling?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNice to hear your voice too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m developing healthy boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCongratulations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGavin\u2019s attorney forwarded a request.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My body tightened.<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat request?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wants permission to send you a letter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe needs permission?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiven the no-contact provisions and custodial rules, his counsel is being careful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does the letter concern?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey say apology and closure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed softly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClosure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave you read it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWould you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought.<\/p>\n<p>My first instinct was refusal.<\/p>\n<p>Then curiosity arrived.<\/p>\n<p>I hated curiosity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave it sent to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRead it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd tell you what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether it contains new factual information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it\u2019s purely personal?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeep it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDestroy it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReturn it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t want to decide yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two days later, he called.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo new factual information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes he blame anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk for forgiveness?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot directly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk for contact later?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMention Lily?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That last answer relaxed something in me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does he want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think he wants you to know he understands more now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked through my office window.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo I need to read it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen hold it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I expected to obsess.<\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>A week passed.<\/p>\n<p>Then another.<\/p>\n<p>The unopened letter existed in Daniel\u2019s office and somehow did not pull at me.<\/p>\n<p>That was new.<\/p>\n<p>Margaret visited Gavin twice during that period.<\/p>\n<p>She told me only because I asked how she was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s attending counseling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked about you once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>Margaret immediately added, \u201cI told him you were fine and changed the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t push.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That mattered too.<\/p>\n<p>People can change in small behaviors long before anyone trusts the change.<\/p>\n<p>I did not need to decide whether Gavin had transformed.<\/p>\n<p>I only needed his boundaries to hold.<\/p>\n<p>One Friday afternoon, Ethan called.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you leave work at five?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWear something comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause formal shoes are a terrible invention.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse increased.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you proposing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo comment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is a comment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFive o\u2019clock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He hung up.<\/p>\n<p>At five, he picked me up.<\/p>\n<p>No Lily.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I turned toward him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMargaret?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou asked Margaret to babysit?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLily asked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sounded plausible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are we going?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He drove to my old neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>I realized it gradually.<\/p>\n<p>The streets became familiar.<\/p>\n<p>Then the corner.<\/p>\n<p>Then the trees.<\/p>\n<p>Then the house.<\/p>\n<p>My former house.<\/p>\n<p>The one Gavin had risked.<\/p>\n<p>The one I sold.<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy are we here?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ethan parked across the street.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I almost proposed somewhere scenic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood start.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then I thought about where marriage became frightening for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot the house itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The house looked different.<\/p>\n<p>New shutters.<\/p>\n<p>A bicycle near the porch.<\/p>\n<p>Someone had planted hydrangeas.<\/p>\n<p>It belonged to strangers now.<\/p>\n<p>Good.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want this place to own the meaning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>He did not get out.<\/p>\n<p>No kneeling.<\/p>\n<p>No audience.<\/p>\n<p>No photographer hiding behind a tree.<\/p>\n<p>He simply reached into his jacket and took out a small box.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My throat tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe loves you more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know. It\u2019s humiliating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed through sudden tears.<\/p>\n<p>He continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t promise I\u2019ll never disappoint you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t promise we\u2019ll never hurt each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can promise I won\u2019t use love as permission to make your decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can promise that when something affects your life, I will treat your right to know as part of loving you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I can promise that if I fail at that, I will not call the failure protection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That one broke me.<\/p>\n<p>I wiped my face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou practiced this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExtensively.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can tell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He opened the box.<\/p>\n<p>The ring was simple.<\/p>\n<p>No enormous stone.<\/p>\n<p>No attempt to compete with anything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNora, will you marry me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the old house.<\/p>\n<p>Then at Ethan.<\/p>\n<p>The answer did not feel like revenge against Gavin.<\/p>\n<p>It did not feel like proof that I had healed.<\/p>\n<p>It did not feel like reclaiming marriage.<\/p>\n<p>It felt like one decision.<\/p>\n<p>Mine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ethan exhaled so hard I laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounded uncertain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He slipped the ring onto my finger.<\/p>\n<p>Then kissed me.<\/p>\n<p>Across the street, a child opened the front door of my old house and shouted something to someone inside.<\/p>\n<p>The door closed again.<\/p>\n<p>Life continued there without me.<\/p>\n<p>Exactly as it should.<\/p>\n<p>On the drive home, I stared at the ring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLily knows?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe kept a secret?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe nearly exploded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When we reached home, Lily opened the door before we reached the porch.<\/p>\n<p>She looked at my hand.<\/p>\n<p>Then screamed.<\/p>\n<p>Not metaphorically.<\/p>\n<p>Actually screamed.<\/p>\n<p>Margaret appeared behind her, laughing.<\/p>\n<p>Lily launched herself at us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYOU SAID YES.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI PICK THE CAKE.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ethan groaned.<\/p>\n<p>Margaret hugged me.<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes went to the ring.<\/p>\n<p>Then to my face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you happy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No complexity this time.<\/p>\n<p>Just yes.<\/p>\n<p>She smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen I\u2019m happy for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Later, after Margaret left and Lily finally went to bed, Ethan and I sat at the kitchen table.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at my hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you know what\u2019s strange?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought saying yes would make me think about my first wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I shook my head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t need to be good or bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned against him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was enough.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=22608\">Click here to continue reading: PART 27: Wedding Plans Brought Old Family Wounds Back Into the Room, Until Nora Refused to Let Her Second Marriage Become a Trial of the First<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ethan did not propose that morning. I almost respected him for it. Almost. Instead, he confiscated Lily\u2019s access to his laptop and delivered a fifteen-minute lecture about privacy. Lily endured &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22607"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22642,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22607\/revisions\/22642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}