"Alberta and Marilyn saving Monica and her child—isn't that earning good karma for themselves?"

I was afraid that if I stayed a second longer, I'd burst through that door and scream the truth into his face. So I stumbled away on unsteady legs.

Back in my room, my strength gave out completely. My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the floor.

So that was it. This whole month, Thaddeus hadn't been good to us because he wanted to make our marriage work. He'd done it to ease his own guilt.

My heart and Marilyn's kidney—we hadn't lost them in the accident. Thaddeus had taken them to save Monica Mason and her daughter.

What I'd believed was redemption was just another abyss.

A month ago, on the way to the airport with Marilyn, our car had been in a devastating crash.

The driver died on impact. Marilyn and I were both critically injured.

After I woke up, the guilt nearly destroyed me. I blamed myself for insisting on the divorce, for insisting on leaving Thaddeus.

Most of all, I blamed myself for ruining Marilyn's life—for the kidney she would never get back.

Thaddeus had knelt in front of me then, pulling my shaking body into his arms.

"This is all my fault. I didn't pay enough attention to you and Marilyn. I didn't take care of you the way I should have."

"I promise, Alberta—from now on, I'll take care of you both. I can't lose you again."

Six-year-old Marilyn had fought through her own pain to comfort me.

"Mommy, it doesn't hurt. Don't blame Daddy."

"If giving up one kidney means Mommy and Daddy can be happy, then Marilyn thinks it's worth it."

It was that day that the three of us made a promise.

We would use the one-month divorce cooling-off period as a trial. We would work on our family, give each other one more chance.

Over the past month, Thaddeus had done exactly what he said he would. He put Marilyn and me first in everything, doing his best to be the perfect husband and father.

But the conversation I'd just overheard between Thaddeus and his secretary told me it was all a lie.

I stared at Marilyn, fast asleep in her little bed, and tears rolled down my cheeks in heavy, unrelenting drops.

I was still sitting there in a daze when Thaddeus walked into the room and found me crumpled on the floor.

"What's wrong, Albie? The floor's cold. Why are you sitting down here?"

"Have you been crying? Are you feeling sick?"