His parents were getting older. More than anything, they wanted their son to settle down somewhere close.
To support his dream of starting a business, I abandoned my own plans.
I took an ordinary job and stayed behind in his hometown to look after them.
During the hardest years of his startup, every paycheck I earned went straight to him—every last cent. I lived off his parents, eating their food, sleeping under their roof.
When they got sick, when anything needed handling, I was the one running around taking care of it.
And now, he was telling me he valued another woman's company more.
My nails dug into my palms without my realizing it.
The moment I walked in, Alma hurried over and took my hands.
"I'm so sorry, Millicent. Kevin's just—he's lost his mind. Let me talk some sense into him..."
Kevin's agitation spiked.
"Millicent, you're the one who brought up breaking up! Tell them!" He jabbed a finger toward his parents. "Tell them Camille isn't a homewrecker!"
Ronald James had heard enough. His foot connected with Kevin's chest, sending him sprawling.
"You worthless bastard!"
"Throw that woman out and apologize to Millicent. Now. Or you can get the hell out of this house."
Kevin curled on the floor, too winded to get up.
Camille let out a sharp yelp and scurried over, helping him to his feet. Then she lifted her chin, defiance glittering in her eyes.
"Mr. James, Mrs. James—this is the modern age. People fall in and out of love. Kevin doesn't have feelings for Millicent anymore."
Her gaze slid toward me. Subtle. Calculated.
My stomach dropped.
And then, just as I feared, she raised her voice.
"You can't guilt your son into spending the rest of his life taking care of her just because you feel sorry for what happened to her as a child." Her lips curled. "Because she was violated. That's not fair to him."
The words detonated in my ears like thunder.
Stifled gasps rippled through the crowd.
Every pair of eyes locked onto me. Heads leaned together. Fingers pointed. Whispers slithered.
My mind went blank.
The thing I'd been terrified of my entire life had finally happened.
Fear and fury crashed over me in a single, drowning wave.
I lost control.
I lunged at Camille, shoving her to the ground, my fingers tangling in her hair as we grappled.
A brutal force seized my arm and wrenched me away.
My body slammed into the corner of a table. Pain exploded through me, and my vision went black at the edges.
Kevin pulled Camille into his arms, shielding her. His eyes blazed with rage.
"Have you lost your mind, Millicent?!"
My voice came out raw, shredded. "You didn't see that she did it on purpose?! She said it loud enough for everyone to hear!"
"So what if she did!"
Kevin cut me off, his voice venomous.
"She was telling the truth!"
The murmurs around us sharpened into clarity.
"Oh my god, it's actually true? That poor girl..."
"Still, she shouldn't have hidden it. That's basically tricking an honest man into cleaning up someone else's mess. Making him look like a fool."
Pity. Contempt. The words stabbed into my back like needles.
I swallowed past the lump choking my throat, but tears spilled over anyway.
"I told you about this in confidence," I rasped. "Was that so you could announce it to the whole world?"
The tenderness Kevin used to look at me with was gone. Erased. As if it had never existed.
"You're the one who told me. You clearly didn't care that much about keeping it secret—why should I have to cover for you?"
He wasn't done.
"Besides, how come you're the one this happened to?"
His lip curled.
"Takes two to tango. Maybe if you hadn't dressed so provocatively back then, it wouldn't have—"
CRACK.
Kevin's head snapped to the side. A vivid handprint bloomed across his cheek.
Alma stood there, chest heaving, her palm still raised. Her eyes held nothing but devastation.
"You animal."
"Do you have any idea that what happened to Millicent is because of you?"
