After months away on duty, I came home expecting my wife’s embrace, but she flinched from my touch like I was a stranger. One night I lifted the blanket, searching for proof she had betrayed me, and froze at the bruises covering her body.

you were away,” Mother said, gripping my shoulder too tightly. “Try not to take it personally.”

Ricardo chuckled. “Loneliness can do strange things to women.”

Elena dropped her gaze.

That night, she slept on the very edge of the bed, wrapped tightly in the blanket, her body turned away from mine. When I reached for her hand, she jerked back so sharply continue reading …