Richard spent entire nights watching their old videos on his phone—the birthdays, vacations, and quiet Sunday mornings. Adeline laughed in nearly all of them, but never at him. He paused the frames, looking closer. How had she never really protested at the taunts he’d thrown her way?
He moved on to the photos—hundreds stored in neat digital albums. In each one, he posed confidently while she leaned toward him just enough to complete the picture. It was a gallery of illusions, curated evidence of a happy life he had demanded she perform. He saw that now.