"Alright, alright, everyone made mistakes. Let's not fight. Come on out, Maddie."
I shot Rebecca a cold look.
"I don't think I was offended. You actually offended me. The fact that I didn't flip the table over should tell you I have a pretty good temper."
"Now, if you don't mind, get out of my house. I need to rest."
My voice carried. Every word landed without an ounce of courtesy, and the living room fell dead silent.
Mick's jaw clenched. He ground out each word through his teeth.
"Madeline, it seems I've been way too good to you all these years."
"Stay in your room and think about what you've done, you embarrassment. You've been cooped up in this house so long it's rotted your brain."
With that, he turned and walked out with Rebecca at his side. He didn't spare me a single glance.
The door clicked shut.
I pressed my hand slowly against my lower belly, and the tears came streaming down.
A month ago, there had been a baby growing inside me.
Mick was always busy with work, always out entertaining clients, always drinking and smoking. The pregnancy hadn't been planned. It was an accident.
The baby didn't pass the prenatal screening. A month ago, I'd had the procedure.
What good did sharp words do now?
Mick and I had been together seven years. Married for three.
From eighteen to twenty-eight, he'd carved himself across every year of my youth.
And I had just lost our child.
How could my heart not ache?
I didn't know how much time passed before silence settled outside the door again. Then Mick walked back into the room.
"They've all gone home. Go clean up the dining table."
"Rebecca's a young woman. It's late, and it's not safe for her to go home alone. She can stay in the guest room."
"She's had too much to drink. I'm going to check on her. Once you're done cleaning up, go to bed. Don't wait up."
A bitter laugh curled inside my chest.
Check on her? Did he really think I was that stupid?
My gaze drifted to the suitcase I'd already packed.
It looked like Mick wasn't coming back to the bedroom tonight.
I'd rest, then leave at dawn. No point in letting him find out and starting another fight.
But when I stepped out of the bathroom after washing up, Mick was sitting on the edge of the bed. He seemed to have been waiting for me.
"I know you're upset about today. Fine, okay, I was wrong. Stop being angry."
"You know how it is. I'm a man. Men doing business out there need to save face sometimes."
"Don't give me the silent treatment. I already apologized."
I was about to respond when his phone chimed with a notification.
He read the message, and his expression shifted. He looked up at me, a flicker of anger in his eyes.
"This is all because of your little tantrum!"
"Rebecca says since you're unhappy, she's not staying. She left on her own."
"It's the middle of the night. She left from our house. If something happens to her out there, what then?"
He grabbed his jacket and rushed out the door.
I didn't want anything to do with their business anymore. But he was right about one thing: she had left from our home.
After a moment's thought, I changed my clothes and followed him out.
I hadn't gone far before I spotted Rebecca sitting alone beneath a streetlamp on the curb.
The second she saw Mick, her eyes turned red and glassy. She choked back a sob as she explained.
"I was trying to call a car here, but I didn't watch my step on the curb and twisted my ankle."
"Mr. Graves, am I just hopeless? I'm always causing you trouble."
"I know it's so late, but Madeline seemed upset. I really didn't dare stay at your place."
Mick listened to every pitiful word. Then he turned and shot me a vicious glare before bending down and scooping Rebecca into his arms.
