His face falls in shock. “Yeah, well, all those food blogs you read are useless, because your chicken tastes like cardboard.”

“That’s a family recipe!” I yell, unsure of where that came from.

“Okay, okay,” Sanders says as he lifts a hockey stick and puts it between us, backing us up against either side of the couch. “This was exactly what I was waiting for. I could see it in your body language, I could see you wanting to get it out, and now that you have, we can really start working.”

“There’s no use,” I say, waving off Sanders. “This is a joke. I think we both know where this is going. No point in continuing.”

“You see. This is what I’m dealing with,” Wilder says, gesturing toward me. “She doesn’t want to try. She doesn’t want to give me the benefit of the doubt. She’s ready to walk away.” He shakes his head and are those…oh my God, are those actual tears forming in his eyes? “I’m not ready to let go.”

Sanders nods slowly. “Yes, I see that.” He stands from his chair and then moves to the coffee table, where he takes a seat right in front of us. “I’ve seen many couples with this same sort of attitude. Some pettiness and built-up animosity cloud their vision on how to work on their marriage. I’m here to tell you, this is never over. Ever. Even if you think it is, you’re not even close to being over.”

Not the thing I want to hear.

But then there’s Wilder, nodding and taking my hand in his as if to say, “Yes, Sanders, we might still have a chance to repair this.”

No, you moron, we’re supposed to be mad at each other.

Hating each other.

Not holding hands in hope.

“Now that we’ve gotten here and found the point of contention, here is what I suggest⁠—”

“Can we just pause for a second?” I say, not wanting there to be a solution but really wanting to end this farce once we leave this office. “I’ll be honest, walking in here, I told Wilder to make it seem like we’re okay, because I wanted to save face. You’re my boss’s husband after all, but to be truthful, we’re both unhappy. And we’ve been unhappy for a while. And I don’t want to fool you into thinking that there is a chance we can change things.”

“She’s right.” Wilder nods, surprising me. “We can’t seem to get past the bitterness we hold in our hearts.”

Oh, give me a break.

“So I appreciate this session,” I say with finality, “but I think it’s best if we just move on.”