Silence after a fight isn’t always anger. Sometimes both people are waiting to be brave first.

Two people waiting look exactly like two people refusing. After an argument the quiet usually holds more fear than fury on both sides: each of you is rehearsing an opening line, each reading the other’s silence as proof of how angry they are, and the gap widens by itself. Days can pass on nothing but nerves. Somebody has to break it, and it does not matter who.

Send the short version this week: one line, no case for your side, something as simple as asking whether you can talk. Do not wait for the perfect sentence. First is braver than right.