She stared at him, unsure. “An old movie.” He didn’t really respond and Cora wasn’t sure what to do next. “Do you want me to change it?” she asked him.

“The football is on…”

At that, she reached for the remote, but his fingers on hers, cool and sure, almost made her jump. He blinked at her when she looked up sharply. “Do you want to watch this movie?”

Not particularly, but curiosity won out.

She gave a nod. His fingers tugged at hers, pulling her hand to sit between them, fingers entwined. A halfway point.

“Leave it on,” he said, his eyes back on the screen.

* * *

When they went to therapy again, Doctor Massey watched them as she had the first appointment. Cora had felt the pamphlet she’d squashed down in her bag but hadn’t thrown away as if it held the weight of a secret. When her fingers had brushed it the night before, leaving a sensation like burning, she’d thought about making an appointment to see Doctor Massey alone. The thought had been quickly dismissed.

Doctor Massey asked if Alec had managed to interrupt less.

“Of course,” Alec had said.

Doctor Massey asked Cora.

She swallowed and took a breath, trying to remember he’d been trying while Cora had been pressing her lips to someone else’s in elevators. “He’s been better. He’s been trying to think of me. Though…” Both of the other people in the room stared at her, waiting for it. “On Saturday, it all felt like back to normal. Dinner with our parents… I felt…”

“How did you feel, Cora?”

“Like Alec would say things purposefully to embarrass me.”

“I did no such thing, Cora.”

The rest of the session went on like that—old arguments, Alec’s blame.

Doctor Massey would steer him to listen to things Cora said. Cora didn’t want to say much. Doctor Massey mentioned the tool of manipulation. Of dominant and submissive personalities.

When he heard that, Alec said, “If Cora weren’t so submissive, we wouldn’t have such a problem.”

Maybe he was right. Something must have flashed across her face to hint at that thought, because Doctor Massey sat back, looked at them both, and talked about balance. Self-awareness.

It was exhausting.

All Cora wanted to do was stand up and ask, “What about cheating? What about tasting someone else’s lips, going over the memory of their skin under your hands while you lie next to your husband in bed and try not to drown in the guilt of it all?

Why had she kissed Frazer again?

Why did she feel the need to bury herself in this other person?

Tears burnt her eyes, and when she and Alec finished, they walked out together. The street to the hospital was full of people. He spoke about how good it was to get everything in the open.