William's cheeks tightened as he ground his teeth together. It was almost as if he was chewing his words because he didn't want to speak them out. But they burst out of his mouth anyway. “I feel so guilty! I wish I had just forgiven her, it was all I had to do. But then… I was in so much pain… I just couldn't.”

Gail remained silent, waiting patiently for him to get to the point.

“Maxine was like my oxygen, you know. I could hardly breathe whenever we had to be away from each other. ...