She lay in her bed, endlessly recounting stories from the past.
Every story was a variation on the same theme: how I was unreasonable, how I overreacted, how I didn't understand the bigger picture.
The words were meant to paint a certain picture of me in James's mind, but for some reason, he couldn't connect them to the woman he knew.

He was lost in thought for a long time while Chloe prattled on.
Finally, his face hardened.
"That's enough. Olivia isn't like that. I know her."
His words brought instant tears to Chloe's eyes. She scrambled to get out of bed to apologize.
"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. I know Olivia is a good person, and so are you. If it wasn't for you, I don't know how I would have survived these last three years. I'm just worried she'll act out and hurt you."
"James, you know me. I don't have any other intentions."

"Aunt Anna's accident was something I never intended. The brakes failed, I had no idea! I was just trying to pick her up from the airport to surprise her, who could have known…"
No matter when it was mentioned, the accident was a knife twisting in James's heart.
The pain was so sharp it stole his breath.
He had always told himself Chloe was innocent, but at the time, all the evidence pointed to something far more sinister than an accident. Even his own family investigators had said the case was full of holes.

He remembered my cold, hopeless face at the dinner party, and for the first time, he felt a wave of disgust for Chloe.
"Stop. What's past is past. I have to go. I'll have Liam come stay with you."
Chloe tried to make him stay, but James didn't look back. He walked out of the hospital room without another word.