Boardroom And Bedroom

occupation consumed my every waking thought. I found myself constantly studying my husband, searching

meticulously composed exterior in the wake of that confrontation with Judith. If anything, the lone-wolf aura surroundin

nessed a psychological bombshell from his inner life detonate right before me. How was I supposed to unrav

e plush sofa in the study, nursing a glass of wine while staring sightlessly at the pages of a novel. My mind ha

a beat. As always, his expression remained indecipherable - not a hint wh

," he remarked in that low, disaffecte

elt the dam burst open as the w

raighter to face him fully. "You've been utterly stonewalling me about...about whatever it is that

ibly - his only flickering tell that I'd struck a nerve.

It's not your concern to pry in

es turned white. That same old callous detachment of hi

not th

now, Jack - or did that slip your mind yet again? I'm your wife, your partner, and yo

nst each other, the air thick with tension. Final

t, entitled youth - nothing more. I've left that

tting, it seems those old wounds are still gushing as much now as ever before. And you're no

ing his next words. When he spoke, his voice was tightly

stability of my business and professional reputation are my solitary priorities. Dwelling on..

he cracks in that unshakable veneer of yours when your grandmother provoked you about this mystery

slightly at my point-blank incision. Part of me was almost afraid I'd pushed him

oice emerged in a low, gravel

that history, Amy. Some horrors are best left

e room, the air crackling with tension in his wake. I let out the breath I

t goading Jack into flashes of vulnerability. As disturbing as they were, it was

m. So profound were the traumas inflicted that even the mere allusion to her was a

cally? My mind raced feverishly, aching to finally unearth the story behind what

finally pried open a hairline fissure to the other side of Jack. To the harbored humanity he usually

had married. A man of such profound emotional scars and traumas etched upon his very bein

m, I reached out and gently traced one finger along the

Howling in silent anguish like a kicked dog despite all the pristine trappings surrounding him. As if no amo

m the world, from me. I yearned to reach across the chasm and pull h

into his inner world, instead of slapping away e

with Jack. Because it seemed no matter of impassioned argument or forceful tactics could une

for dismantling the solid walls of Jack's emotional defenses. Some other insight or entr

lently vowed, then surely they would eventually crack open fr