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Meg

I have often heard the expression “It hit him like a punch in the stomach,” but I had never felt it myself Suddenly I knew exactly what it meant The letter struck me a blow that caused a physical ache so sharp I had to bend over Then I sat up Perhaps I’dof the thing

I grabbed the letter and read it againI read it out loud

Eventually I turned it over and found another

Daddy, me and Alice miss you terrible, just terrible Pleas coter, Amelia

And that is when I felt my heart break

Chapter 45

I POURED COLD WATER from the pitcher into the basin, then washedso hard I threatened to take the skin off

Next I took a sheet of writing paper froiven e: a beautiful Waterman pen

I pulled the wobbly chair up to the wobbly table and uncapped the pen Immediately I felt all my lawyerly eloquence disappear

Dear Meg,

As your husband, and your friend, II do love you You are si to say that I don’t A separation like this is a rash thing to do, especially considering that we have never even discussed these problems face to face

I don’t care about your father’s opinion of ourwill break the hearts of everyone involved—Alice, Amelia, my own heart, even yours

Before you take any further action, please, ether, as husband and wife, asand Ben who always planned to spend our lives together

Suddenly I ca trance…