Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

Denial, maybe? That didn’t make him feel better. Introspection wasn’t
exactly his forte, but how could he have not seen any of this before?
Nelson didn’t seem to have that problem, which humbled Wallace more
than he expected. “I didn’t see it, then,” he admitted. He scrubbed a hand
over his face. “I had privilege. I lived a life of privilege. I had everything I
thought I wanted and now…” He didn’t know how to finish.
“And now that’s all been stripped away, leaving you only with yourself,”
Nelson said quietly. “Hindsight is a powerful thing, Wallace. We don’t
always see what’s right in front of us, much less appreciate it. It’s not until
we look back that we find what we should have known all along. I won’t
have you thinking I’m a perfect man. It would be a lie. But I’ve learned that
maybe I was a better person than I expected. I think that’s all anyone can ask
for.” Then, “Did you have anyone to help chase the loneliness away?”
He hadn’t. He tried to remember how things had been before it’d all fallen
apart, how Naomi had looked to him with light in her eyes, the corners of her
mouth quirking up softly. She hadn’t always despised him. There had been
love between them, at one point. He’d taken it for granted, thinking she’d
always be there. Wasn’t that part of their vows? ’Til death do us part. But
their parting had come long before death ever found Wallace, and with her
exit, the crumbling of the life they’d built together. She left and Wallace
threw himself into his work, but had it really been any different than when
she’d been there? He remembered one of the last days of their marriage,
when she’d stood in front of him, eyes cold, telling him he had to make a
choice, that she wanted more than what he was offering.
He hadn’t said a word.
It didn’t matter. She heard all the things he didn’t say. It wasn’t her fault.
None of it was, no matter what he’d tried to tell himself. It was why he
hadn’t contested the divorce, giving her everything she’d asked for. He’d
thought it was because it was better to get it over with. He could see now it
was because the guilt had been gnawing at him, though he hadn’t given it a
name at that point. He was too proud for that.
Or he had been, at least.
“No,” he whispered. “I don’t think I did.”
Nelson nodded as if that was the answer he expected. “I see.”
Wallace didn’t want to think about it anymore. “Tell me something no one
else knows.”