“Then you could’ve started badly,” I replied. “You could’ve told me you were terrified and had no answers.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“I didn’t need you to protect me from being scared. I wanted the chance to be scared with you.”
For a long moment, we sat quietly, holding hands.
Later, Conor apologized for asking Tilly to keep his diagnosis secret. I told them both that, no matter how well-intentioned their choices had been, important truths shouldn’t be hidden from me.
Conor asked what I needed from him moving forward.
“I need a husband who lets me be part of his life, even when things are difficult,” I said. “And I’ll work on listening instead of immediately trying to fix everything.”
Then I added, “But please don’t keep important things from me and call it love.”
Several weeks later, Conor’s cast was removed.
