"So you see," Jack continued. "You do not need to apologize to me for anything. Ever. Understand?"
He waited for a response.
"You..." Adriana said, finally. "You make it sound like I'm so perfect. I'm not. I do things that are right sometimes but sometimes I mess up. I make mistakes. I have to apologize sometimes-"
"Sure you do," he said. "If you insist. But not to me."
"Oh...okay," she said.
"Don't apologize for changing your mind," he said. "When you told me that you wanted to leave Bruce to be with me, I always knew that there was a high probability that you would come to your senses."
He took a deep breath.
"Okay then," he said. "That is it."
It was her turn. Adriana's turn to do what she had agreed to. To say exactly what was on her mind, unfiltered as he had done.
"Any questions?" he asked.
She was relieved. She was not ready to speak. He seemed at ease and comfortable saying what was on his mind, but she was not prepared to.
"You said..." she managed to say. "You knew that there was a high chance that I would come to my senses? When I told you I wanted to leave Bruce for you? So...you never believed me?"
"Ah well," he said. "I was merely weighing the options you had. You have a man you obviously love. A husband. The only father your son has known. Then you also have the option of selecting from...oh, I don't know, the majority of men out there. You could clearly have your pick. Decent men. Upstanding men that you could be proud of. And there is me."
He raised and eyebrow and gave a subtle expression that showed her that he believed she could do much better.
"And after weighing all of the options that you have available to you," he said. "Yes, I knew that given time you would most likely change your mind. I understand that. It makes sense."
He took another breath.
"Anything else?" he asked.
She shook her head once. Again he waited for her to speak. It was her turn. He noticed she appeared to be conflicted.
"Listen," he said. "I know we just agreed to share whatever we are thinking. Just to open up some dialogue. But you don't need to actually say anything to me if you do not want to. I would appreciate if you would. But I would also appreciate if you did not. Whatever you chose to do here is appreciated."
Again he waited.
"Podrías matarme," she heard herself blurt out and then slowly moved a hand to cover her mouth. Then she lowered it. "I'm sorry."
She had allowed her mind to speak on its own, and she couldn't believe what she had said.
"Let me remind you," he said gently. "Do not apologize to me."
"I was just..." she said. "I was trying to do what we agreed. To just say whatever was in my mind and that just came out."
"Mhm," he said.
After a few moments, she realized that he wasn't going to ask her to translate what she said. He was leaving it up to her.
"I said that..." she said. "You could kill me."
She watched his eyebrows raise slowly.
"I meant...not that I think you would kill me," she said. "I know you wouldn't. I meant that..I don't think I could take...another...."
