She could see when Theo finally started to give in. He looked as shaken as she felt; like a man who knew he was beaten and was just starting to realize his fate. At the same time, it felt as if a piece of her heart was being torn away from her, little by little. Vera felt little pleasure at hearing his agreement. She almost wished he would still fight her, because at least that meant they would be able to prolong the inevitable.

“The children will be with nurse for a little while longer.” She said, the wheels in her mind turning. There was no good time to tell children that their father was dead. How could they being to plan for a funeral for someone who was still alive? They still had to go into mourning knowing full well that the man they were mourning was somewhere still on this earth. All Vera wanted to do was lie down, but that wasn’t a possibility now. “We need to tell the staff first, I think…tell nurse and nanny, and then the children.” Was that the right order? The children deserved to know first, but having the staff dive into taking care of the family without any warning seemed just as unfair.