“I just needed time,” he said, the words coming faster now, less controlled. “I needed things to slow down.” His jaw tightened, eyes flicking away before forcing themselves back to her. “You were pulling ahead. Everyone saw it. Your work. Your father. The way people listened to you.”
He swallowed. “I was becoming the husband who stood beside you while you ran the house. The business. The future. I couldn’t—” His voice broke, sharp with something like anger. “I couldn’t be invisible in my own life.”