If you ask a marriage counselor why people give in, the answer is rarely "sex." It is almost always .

Temptation is just grief wearing a party mask. It’s grief for the person you used to be, the ease you used to feel, the future you vaguely imagined before reality showed up with its laundry and its leaky faucets and its beautiful, unglamorous demands.

Then she said it: "You know, if I had met you ten years ago, my whole life would be different."

It’s a dangerous game. I catch myself thinking, “If I were married to him, I would make sure he felt desired.” Or, “If she were my wife, I’d never leave the bedroom.”