Cora took a deep breath, her teeth clenched. Should she be honest or did she say what Alec wanted her to say?

“I, uh,” she refused to look at Alec, “I feel like whichever direction the conversation goes, it’ll be my fault anyway. So, if I walk away, the same result happens without all the discussion. If I—”

“So walking away solves everything?” Alec interjected.

Cora still couldn’t look at him. “Often, it’s like he just interrupts me before I can say—”

“That’s not true.”

Cora kept her eyes on Doctor Massey and wondered if Alec saw the irony in what had just occurred.

He kept talking, so apparently not.

But then Doctor Massey stopped him again. Reminded him that in this room, they both had to listen to what the other person said.

“I feel Alec talks over me.”

“What do you think about that, Alec?”

And Alec, the microphone in his hand, apparently thought a lot about that.

Cora’s face felt so hot that she wondered if it looked as painted with shame as she felt. It was never-ending. Cora heard that she was too sensitive: if she only fought back harder, he’d respect her more. If he was too dominant, it was only because she was too submissive.

Then the doctor turned to her and asked, “What do you think is the number one problem in your relationship?”

I slept with someone else.

Cora had never been more aware of her breathing. Alec was staring at her. Doctor Massey was staring at her. “I don’t know.”

“Think.”

Alec started to speak, and the doctor turned to him, that smile in place. “Alec, you had your turn, it’s Cora’s turn to speak.”

Everything seemed too quiet and too loud all at once.

“I think we’ve lost the ability to communicate.”

Doctor Massey nodded. Cora had no idea if that was the right answer or not. She also wasn’t sure if they’d ever had the ability to communicate to start with. In the beginning, Cora mostly remembered listening to Alec with a sensation akin to awe. Slowly, as she’d started to speak more, she’d shaped her answers around him. Then, as she’d stopped doing that, he’d lashed out. Scorned her, made her feel stupid.

They talked more. Doctor Massey talked more.

She ended by saying, “These sessions aren’t here to ‘fix’ your relationship. They’re here to give you the tools to communicate with each other and to give you the space to do just that.” She looked from one to the other. “Before the next session, I want you to work on one thing each: Alec, if Cora is telling you something, let her finish. Try to hear what she’s saying. And Cora…”

Why did just the sound of her name make Cora feel nervous?