Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out, and for the first time since I had known her, she looked unsure of herself.
Mark didn’t speak immediately, giving the moment space, letting it settle, letting the weight of what she had seen find its place.
I watched her closely, noticing the small details, the way her shoulders had lowered, the way her gaze flickered briefly toward Leo.
He sat very still, his small hands folded in his lap, not looking at her, not looking at anyone, as if waiting for something he couldn’t name.
“I didn’t know,” Brenda finally said, her voice quieter than I had ever heard it, stripped of its usual certainty, almost fragile in its hesitation.
Mark nodded once, not harshly, not gently either, just acknowledging the truth of her statement without softening what came next.
“You didn’t ask,” he replied, and there was no anger in his voice, which somehow made the words land even harder.
