"Shawn..."

"Yeah, I'm here," he replied immediately as she spoke.

"Don't you despise me? Not even a little?" Gale asked.

"How could I despise you, Galey?"

"But I despise myself."

Shawn sighed, reaching out to embrace her, but she resisted, pressing against his chest, unwilling to be intimate with him.

"Shawn... I feel dirty. Even after showering, even after I've changed and I'm technically all clean from head to toe, I still feel an invisible dirt," Gale said.

Her eyes moistened slightly, she blinked quickly, retracting the tears. She lifted her head, locking eyes with Shawn.

"I know what you're thinking. You don't blame me, and you think it's not my fault. I also know. I'm not at fault, I'm the victim, but I can't change what has happened.

"Shawn, I'm not worthy of you, and I've let down this marriage.

"This matter will become the deepest thorn in both our hearts. Even if you don't mention it, I don't think about it, but it will always be there, the elephant in the room."