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« He knows this, » I said slowly. « You told him three weeks ago. »
« I told him three weeks ago, » Dr. Alderman confirmed. « During a solo consultation. You were working a night shift that day, if I remember the scheduling correctly. »
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I remembered that exact appointment. I’d apologized to Griffin for missing it, and he’d told me it was just a routine check-in, nothing significant enough to worry about rearranging my shift for.
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« He lied to me, » I said.
« I believe he was trying to protect you from information he hadn’t finished processing himself yet, » Dr. Alderman said carefully. « That’s not the same as lying with malicious intent, though I understand it might feel identical from where you’re sitting right now. »
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« Why are you telling me this? » I asked. « Doesn’t this violate his privacy? »
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« It does, » Dr. Alderman admitted. « I’m telling you anyway because Griffin sat in my office an hour ago and told me his plan to divorce you today, specifically because he didn’t want you, in his words, ‘wasting your life on someone who’s just going to get sick again.’ I don’t think that’s a decision he’s making with a clear head, Simone. I think it’s a decision he’s making out of fear, and I think you deserve the chance to respond to the actual situation instead of whatever version he’s decided to hand you without the full picture. »
