Skyler's POV
“Oh my God, it's a knife!” I screamed when I saw the glistening blade coming towards me and tried to get away from Ethan at the same time as Robert shouted, “No, Ethan! No!”
But, I guess it was too late as a saw blood dripping on the floor. Then I felt it, the pain in my right shoulder.
The look on Ethan's face was pure and utter disgust, but my mind went blank when I saw the look of smug on Lila's face as I succumbed to darkness.
“Why would you do that?! Call 911!” It was Roberts voice before I have in totally.
***
The world came back to me in pieces and slow fragments of hospital noise and IV drips.
My body felt too heavy.
Even blinking took effort. Every breath scratched my throat raw, and my ribs throbbed like they had been pummeled by an elephant.
Voices murmured somewhere near me. A shadow of someone moved to the edge of my vision. I tried to turn my head.
I Couldn’t.
My mouth parted, but the words stuck to my tongue, refusing to come out.
“Skyler?” A soft voice, too sweet to be trusted, sounded from above me.
I knew that voice.
Ruby.
My chest tightened, not from the pain, but from the kind of dread that made your stomach turn cold.
I forced my eyes open. Bright lights came in from all the corners of the room. Hospital walls. Machines.
And there she was, her hands were folded, her perfect posture, like she has not aged a day since she forced me into this nightmare of a marriage.
“There you are,” she cooed, brushing a strand of hair from my forehead like she owned me. “You gave us quite the scare.”
I wanted to scream. But I couldn’t even lift my hand. My body was mine, but it didn’t listen. Why wasn’t it listening?
“You’ve been asleep for three days,” she continued, her voice turning into a whisper. “The doctors say you’ll make a full recovery…eventually.”
Three days?
My eyes searched for someone…anyone else.
“Robert?” I croaked, barely recognizing my own voice.
Her expression didn’t change, but something showed in her eyes. “He’s… away. Handling things.”
Things?
My mind raced, then everything rushed in. I remember.
Ethan.
My son.
His face twisted in confusion… in pain… and then in rage. The flash of knife. The warmth of blood, my blood, on his hands.
He stabbed me.
He actually…
A sob tore its way up my throat, but I swallowed it down. Ruby didn’t need to see that.
I turned my face away, or tried to. My neck screamed in pain.
“I know this is difficult,” she said, as if she were consoling a child who lost a toy. “But rest. Let me take care of you.”
“You…” I forced out. “Why… are you here?”
Her lips curled. “Because I’m the only one who still cares.”
That was a lie. She didn’t care about me. She cared about control.
And Robert? Of course he was gone. Coward.
“You need strength,” she said, standing. “Healing takes time. And once you’re better… we will figure out how to fix what has been broken.”
Fix?
There was no fixing this.
My son stabbed me.
My so called husband disappeared.
And I was stuck with the woman who orchestrated it all from the very beginning.
But I wouldn’t stay broken.
Let Ruby pretend she had the upper hand.
Let them all think I was still weak.
I would heal.
And when I did, I would tear the truth from every one of them, starting with my Ethan…. That's of he wanted to see me at all.
***
I waited until Ruby poured another glass of lukewarm water and turned her back to adjust the blinds, pretending to busy herself like a good little caretaker. My voice was scratchy and raw.
“I want a divorce.” I repeated to her. Maybe this time she'll see that I was right.
She stilled. “Skyler,” she sighed, still facing the window, “you’ve been through a trauma. You’re not thinking clearly.”
“I have never thought clearer in my life.” My voice cracked, but I didn't let the pain stop me. “I’m done pretending. I want out.”
She turned slowly. “You can’t just walk away from this. From him. From Ethan.”
I laughed, bitter and dry. “Ethan? He’s the one who stabbed me, Ruby. My son. He looked at me like I was the enemy. That wasn’t confusion in his eyes. That was hate.”
Her eyes narrowed, lips pressed together in disapproval. “He’s a child, Skyler.”
“He is five. A five year old that is capable of hatred, no. He's not a child,” I snapped. “Old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. And you think I should stay in a loveless marriage for him? He hates me, Ruby. He doesn’t even see me as his mother.”
Ruby walked closer to the bed. “You’ve been in his life since he was a baby. You raised him. Gave him everything. He is confused right now. But if you leave now, if you destroy this family, he will never forgive you.”
I met her gaze, locking into it like a challenge. “He already hasn’t forgiven me for wherever I've done, which is nothing.”
Her jaw clenched.
“I won’t stay in a prison just to make Ethan feel better about his father’s lies,” I said, “You think this is about family, Ruby? This was a contract. A transaction. I played my part. I raised the boy. I suffered the man. But I am not doing this anymore.”
Ruby opened her mouth, but the door clicked before she could answer.
We both turned.
Robert walked in. “Speak of the devil,” I muttered.
He didn’t flinch. He just walked to the side of the bed and dropped a thick folder onto the tray beside me. My eyes flicked down.
Legal print.
His name. My name.
Divorce Papers.
My breath hitched.
