(Esther's Point of View)
I could feel how heavy the silence was between us.
It was hard to breathe.
The air in the room was thick with tension that I couldn't get away from. I stood by the door and watched Matthew from the other side of the room. I could see how hunched his shoulders were and how still his body was, as if he was holding something in. Keeping everything inside.
I knew this moment would come. I had known it in the pit of my stomach, even when things seemed to be going well and I thought, "Maybe, just maybe, we're finally going to get it right."
But now, it felt like the chaos he had brought into our lives was closing in on us.
"Matthew..." I began, my voice low, almost a whisper, but the words were too heavy.
He didn't look back.
"Matthew, we need to talk," I said as
