CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
RHETT
Day Twenty-Two
I wake with Nora's hair across my shoulder and happiness already becoming grief.
Morning light enters through the curtains. Her ring rests against my chest on its chain. My left hand lies over her waist, wedding band beside bare skin.
For one reckless minute, I imagine this is an ordinary morning in the marriage we almost had.
Then Nora stirs.
Her body tightens before her eyes open.
I remove my hand.
"Good morning," I say.
She sits up, gathering the sheet around herself. "Morning."
No regret in her face.
No promise either.
I hold both truths without reaching for the easier one.
"Coffee?" I ask.
"Yes. Then I should go."
In the kitchen, I make it the way she likes: too strong, one spoon of sugar, milk warmed first. She leans against the counter wearing my shirt. The sight is intimate enough to become dangerous.
"Last night mattered," she says.
"Yes."
"It didn't solve anything."
"No."
"I do not want you to treat it as evidence that I am staying."
"I won't."
She studies me. "You say that very easily."
"It is not easy. It is clear."
Pain softens her expression.
I want to cross the kitchen and ask for another hour. I want to touch the ring at her throat and tell her to put it back where I can see it. I want to make breakfast, call the team, cancel time.
Wanting is allowed.
Claiming is not.
When security arrives, Nora kisses my cheek.
At the elevator, she says, "Thank you for last night."
"Thank you for choosing it."
The doors close.
On the kitchen table, she has left a note beneath her empty cup.
This was not forgiveness. It was not nothing. Please let both be true.
I fold it once and place it in my wallet.
At noon, Tessa and Elena arrive with legal counsel. The evidence from Colin's devices includes text messages with Damon.
Three hours before the video appeared online, Damon wrote:
Preserve anything from the captain meeting. It may be useful if disclosure becomes necessary. Do not distribute without approval.
Colin replied:
Useful costs money.
Damon sent five thousand dollars through a consulting company.
Colin posted the clip anyway after an entertainment account offered more.
"So Damon paid for the copy but did not order publication," Elena says. "That may still violate contracts, confidentiality obligations, and several laws. Police are investigating."
My lawyer looks at me. "We recommend no public comment until charges are filed."
"Nora sees everything first."
"Her attorney will receive it."
"Not a summary. Everything."
I call Maren with counsel present.
"We have evidence Damon paid Colin to preserve the footage," I tell her. "I am sending the full file. I don't know whether Damon intended the leak."
"Why are you telling me instead of letting legal do it?"
"Because Nora was the subject of the footage and the target of the threats. She should not learn the timeline from a headline."
Maren is quiet. "I will tell her."
"Tell her something else."
"Proceed carefully."
"Damon's involvement does not change what I said. I will not use him as an excuse."
"I will tell her exactly that."
After the call, Elena dismisses counsel and studies me across the dining table.
"What do you want to do about the captaincy?" she asks.
"Why?"
"Because the playoffs have become a public referendum on your personal life. You may believe stepping down proves accountability. I am telling you now that dramatic sacrifice often creates work for other people."
"I was not planning to step down."
"Good."
"I am planning to earn it differently."
She nods. "Also good."
My return-to-play test is tomorrow. If symptoms remain absent, I can skate non-contact. The deciding game is in three days.
For the first time in my career, hockey does not feel like the center of the story.
It feels like one part of a life I am responsible for living honestly.
That evening, Nora sends one message.
NORA: Maren showed me the evidence. Thank you for not hiding it. Damon does not absolve you.
I respond because she has opened the door.
RHETT: I know. I am sorry he gave the cruelty an audience. The words were still mine.
Three dots appear.
Disappear.
Appear again.
NORA: Last night was not a mistake.
My hand tightens around the phone.
I type six different answers and delete them all.
Finally:
RHETT: Neither was loving you. I made the marriage unsafe. I will not call the love false to make the failure simpler.
Her reply comes a minute later.
NORA: Good night, Rhett.
RHETT: Good night, Nora.
I sleep alone in our bed.
Not abandoned.
Not forgiven.
Simply responsible for what tomorrow requires.