Empty

He said, "It's not your fault. You were manipulated."
"You manipulate me," she replied with the diamond hard certainty of her answer.
"Just hold my hand for a moment and we'll go."
"Are you manipulating me now? Is this blackmail? We won't move until I do what you tell me?" Her voice had gotten louder, more bitter. It expanded as the days of her anger had grown with each passing year. He noticed that her wedding ring was gone. Another line crossed. Another boundary that had disappeared.

He had always thought of himself as the shining white knight in her life. Or at least the swashbuckling pirate. She seemed to prefer the idea of the pirate.

He realized that he was only a hollow man shuffling down a street to nowhere. Alone.