She told him he had hurt her feelings. It was not a dramatic confrontation. It was a quiet, vulnerable statement made over dinner, after he had made a comment about her career that landed like a small blade. She said, "When you said that, I felt diminished. I know you probably did not mean it that way, but that is how it landed." She waited for him to say something, to soften, to apologize.

He did not soften. He shifted. His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. His posture stiffened. And then he spoke. "I was just being honest. You are too sensitive. You always take things the wrong way." Then he picked up his fork and continued eating, as though the conversation was over. She sat there, her hurt now doubled, realizing she had just been handed a bill for someone else's mistake.