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But I don’t care. My girl agreed to spend time with me outside the house, and that’s all that really matters.

I forwent any alcohol and stuck to water for the both of us. Even with Minnie’s bigger appetite today, her intake of nutrition still isn’t great, and I don’t think drinking alcohol right now is a good idea.

For me, well, I haven’t touched any since that night, and I don’t plan to, either. Alcohol almost ruined my marriage, there’s no way I’m letting that happen again.

I haven’t notified anyone that Cecilia was back to her old self, at least for today. I know the minute I did, they would have shown up at the house. It might be a little selfish, but I wanted this moment with my wife alone. Tomorrow, if she hasn’t gone back a step, I’ll inform them.

We enjoy a pleasant dinner together and talk about light subjects. She tells me that she’s nervous about going back to work next week, and I don’t blame her. It’s going to be a lot being around people all at once after her state of solitude.

With all their questions and opinions, it may get overwhelming. Plus, I wouldn’t put it past them that at least one reporter will be camping out in front of her work to harass her. Just thinking about it and I want to rip the imaginary man’s throat out.

“You don’t have to go back if you’re not ready, Minnie.” I place my hand over hers on top of the table.

“I do, Amanda can only extend my time out by so much. She needs me back at some point. I’m lucky she was so understanding and gave me so much time off.”

“What I meant is, if you don’t want to go back, you don’t have to.

Baby, we have more than enough money. If you want to quit and take some time for you, I’m fine with that.

Whatever makes you most comfortable.” I give her a tender smile.

“And when you’re ready to get back out there, maybe you could start your own business.

” I know it’s something she’s mentioned she’d like to do one day, and I think this may be a good time for that.

She interlocks our fingers and rubs her thumb over my skin. “That’s kind of you to offer. I’ll think about it. ”

We finish up and head through the kitchen to exit by the back, but the moment we open the door, we are assaulted by flashes and loud voices.

“Cecilia! Cecilia! Are you planning on leaving Hayes!? What do you have to say about his infidelity?”

“Silas Hayes, was this a one-time occurrence, or are there more?”

“Cecilia! Are you simply accepting his betrayal? What will become of the happy couple?”

Hundreds of questions are shot at us. Immediately, I place my arm around Minnie and bring her head into my chest as she covers it with her coat.

“Fuck off!” I yell as I push through the crowd. Once we’re in the clearing, we run to my SUV. I rip the passenger door open and practically throw my wife in, then run to the other side and jump in, starting the engine and hightailing out of there.

I drive down a few blocks before finding a quiet place to stop and park.

“FUCK!” I punch the steering wheel a couple of times, then grab on tight and drop my head between my two outstretched arms. Cecilia’s quiet beside me, and that has me worried.

“Baby, I’m so sorry! Someone from the staff must have tipped them off.

I’m gonna call the manager and when I get a hold of who it was, I swear I’m—”

“It’s okay, Silas,” she says quietly, playing with the hem of her dress.

“No, it’s not okay. I promised you we would have privacy, and then this happens.” I dig the back of my head into the headrest and close my eyes. “This is the second promise I’ve made to you that I’ve broken...” My voice is thick with emotions as my throat constricts.

She unbuckles herself and grabs my face with both hands, forcing my gaze to her.

“Silas, stop. Don’t think that way, we aren’t going down that road, okay?

It sucks, yes. But I was expecting it to happen at some point.

I know people aren’t going to move on so easily, even if we do.

But they don’t matter. It’s you and me. No one else.

” She brings her forehead to mine. “Can we just continue enjoying our night and forget about them? Forget about everything else. Just us.”

I want to kiss her. She’s so close, I can feel her breath fanning across my lips. One small movement and I could finally taste her again. But I won’t. Instead, I breathe her in and nod against her. “Yeah, okay. Just you and me.”

She pulls away slightly and smiles, rubbing her thumb over my stubble.

Her eyes drop to my lips momentarily, her own parting slightly.

For a second, I think she’s going to kiss me.

That we’re finally going to reconnect the way I’ve wanted to.

But then something flashes in her eyes, something I put there.

Something I wish I could take back. Hurt.

She forces a smile and drops her hands, repositioning herself in her seat and buckling up. I let out a defeated breath and put the car in drive, heading for our final destination.

I park on a nearby street to Central Park, then we jump out and begin our walk in silence. I feel like the evening has been ruined and I don’t know how to fix it.

“We haven’t been back here since that very first day,” she says in a low voice.

“I know, I thought it would be nice for us to come back to where it all started. I wanted to book us a table at Milano’s, but they didn’t have anything private. Although that turned out to be a bust at the other place.”

She takes my hand and gives me a real smile this time.

“I’m happy we did this. I think it’s what I needed.

I’m sorry I gave you the silent treatment since.

..” She clears her throat, looking away for a moment, then coming back to me.

“I just had a lot going on in my head, and I needed to sort through it. I was afraid if I didn’t, I would have said something I’d regret.

I want to try and fix this, Silas. I’m not giving up, but I do still need time. ”

“I know.”

“I just don’t want you to think that me being a bit distant means my feelings for you have changed, because they haven’t.”

“I understand, you don’t need to explain yourself to me, Minnie. I don’t even deserve to be holding your hand right now.” I look down at the ground and kick a pebble. We’re walking slowly down the path, and thanks to how late it is, the place is mostly deserted.

She pulls on my hand, forcing me to stop, and I turn to face her with question.

“Stop, Silas. You’ve been a wonderful husband and boyfriend to me from the very moment we met.

Yeah, you made a mistake, a big one at that.

But it was one mistake. You’ve never done anything else to ever make me doubt you.

So if I’m able to look past this and forgive you over time, then you need to forgive yourself, too. ”

“I don’t know how, Minnie! I feel like if I forgive myself for what I did, it’s like accepting it was okay, and it’s not.” I let go of her hand and take a step back, needing to move, needing to do something.

I pass my hands through my hair and pull at the ends. Just thinking about that night makes my skin crawl. I may not remember the actual event happening, but knowing it did makes me sick to my stomach. I still feel dirty, no matter how many times I’ve scrubbed my skin raw.

Cecilia takes a few steps toward me in a hurry and throws her arms around my neck.

Well, attempts to. But it looks a bit awkward since I’m still standing straight at my full height, completely shocked at the contact of her body pressing against mine.

Even my hands are out to the sides, unsure of what to do .

“Silas. I’m short. This isn’t new, help me out,” she says against my chest.

Finally, I get into action and lower my frame, wrapping my arms around her waist. Fuck, this feels nice. I haven’t hugged her in forever. Just her smell so close to me makes me want to cry. Jesus, I’ve really turned into a pussy.

“Stop living in the past, live in the present. With me. We’ll get through this,” she whispers in my ear, and I squeeze tighter. How can she be so forgiving after all this?

Eventually, we pull apart and I take her hand back, resuming our promenade. There isn’t much talking that happens from here, we simply enjoy each other’s presence, and I love every moment of it. It feels like how it used to be.

But as we walk in silence, a thought bubbles in my head. That night, the night everything went to hell, she said she had something to ask me, but I never got to find out what it was.

It’s been at the forefront of my mind this past week, but since she wasn’t talking to me, I never brought it up. And now that she is, I’m afraid it will ruin the moment. I also don’t want to bring up that night again.

I guess I’ll just wait a little longer for my answer.

Right now, I’m with my girl. My Minnie. My wife. I’m happy, and that’s all that matters. The rest can wait.