Howard Coleman really wanted to open his mouth and ask Madeleine to stay, but the mess he had made, which she had been accusing him of, left him with no face to ask her to stay. He stared at Madeleine for a long time and finally said slowly, "Madeleine, I'll get back to you with an answer."
When Madeleine heard this, she really wanted to ask Howard why he was even considering giving her an answer when he had always wanted to divorce her and didn't have the slightest bit of her in his heart.
Such thoughts flickered through Madeleine's mind for a moment before she realized how self-indulgent this consideration was.
The divorce she had initiated meant the fulfillment of Howard's long-standing purpose. His statement that he would get back to her with an answer was simply to avoid appearing too callous. Perhaps at this very moment, his heart was already lightened by the thought of finally getting rid of the burden she was.
