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But Andy was holding up a hand to stop her, as though he could turn back her words, and she saw something in his eyes she'd never seen there before. It was a kind of strength and dignity she had never known he was capable of, and he took the control of the situation away from her.

“Whatever happened, Kate, I don't need to know what it was. In fact, I don't want to know. You're not going to tell me. It's not important. We're what's important, and our son. Whatever you were going to say to me, don't. I won't listen to it. We are going to shut the door behind us now, and go on.” She was so stunned that for a moment, she couldn't say a word.

“But Andy, we can't…” She could feel tears filling her eyes. He had to listen to her. She was going to divorce him, and marry Joe. She didn't want to be married to Andy anymore. And Joe wanted to marry her. She wasn't going to lose him now, after all these years. But Andy had something to say about it, and she couldn't divorce him, unless he agreed. He had obviously figured it out, or enough to know that their marriage was on the line, and he was not going to lie down and let her roll over him. He had already made a decision about it, no matter how she felt. And as far as Andy was concerned, the subject was closed.

“Yes, Kate, we can,” he said in a tone that frightened her. “And we will. Whatever you wanted to say to me, you're going to keep to yourself. We're married. We have a son. We'll have more children soon, I hope. And we're going to have a good life. And that's all you're going to say to me. Is that clear? I probably shouldn't have stayed away as long as I did. But I think we did something important in Germany, and I'm glad that I was part of it. And now you're going to be my wife, Kate, and we'll go on from here.” Kate was stunned by the power of his words and the steel in his eyes. It was very unlike him.

“But Andy, please,” the tears were rolling down her cheeks. “I can't do this… I can't…” she sobbed. She was in love with Joe, and not with him. She had never felt so trapped in her life as she just had, listening to him. He was not going to let her out, she knew, no matter what she said. Her only choice then would be to run away with Joe, and live with him. She couldn't even take Reed with her if she wasn't divorced and didn't have custody. Andy might as well have put her in jail and locked her in. And they both knew he just had. She had not yet consulted a lawyer, she had wanted to tell Andy first, but she knew that she could not divorce him without grounds to do so. And she had none against him. Her hands were tied, unless he agreed. “You have to listen to me,” she pleaded with him. “You don't want me like this.” She was sobbing, and his eyes were hard."

"“We're married, Kate. That's the end of it. You'll feel better about it in a while, and you'll thank me for this one day. You were about to make a terrible mistake, and I'm not going to let that happen to us. I can't. Now, I'm going to shower and take a nap. Would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight?” When she looked up at him, her eyes were bleak. She didn't want to go anywhere with him. She didn't want to be married to him. She was his prisoner now. Not his wife.

She never answered him about dinner, and he didn't wait to hear her response. He left the room and closed the bedroom door. He was shaking when he walked into the bathroom and locked the door, but Kate didn't know that. For the first time in the years she'd known him, she hated him. All she wanted was to be with Joe, but she couldn't leave her son. Andy knew he had her by the throat. She would never abandon Reed. And if Andy would not agree to divorce her, she was trapped.

When she heard him turn on the shower, she called Joe. He was in a meeting, but she asked Hazel to get him out, and a moment later, he was on the phone.

“What's up? Was it very bad?” He sounded worried. He'd been thinking about her all day, wondering how it had gone when she told Andy she was leaving him.

“Worse than that. He won't even listen to me. He won't give me a divorce. And if he doesn't, I can't take Reed.”

“He's just bluffing you, Kate. He's scared. Just hold firm.”

“You don't understand. I've never seen him like this. He says the matter is closed. It's done. He wouldn't even let me talk about it.” She hadn't even had the chance to tell him about Joe, which had seemed fair and she thought would convince him. But he wouldn't let her speak, and Kate felt as though he had surrounded himself with a wall of stone.

“Then take the baby and walk out,” Joe said, sounding stern. She felt trapped between the two men, like their pawn. “He can't force you to stay there.”

“He can force me to come back with Reed, if he takes me to court.” She sounded scared, and she was. The way Andy had looked at her, she knew she had good reason to be. Andy did not intend to lose her or his son.

“He won't.