Because I was soft-hearted, I agreed to stay and settle down here.
But I never imagined all of it had been a lie.
"So what if it was!"
"Lorraine, did you really expect me to move in with your family like some kept man?"
...
"Lorraine, please don't be upset."
"Nigel didn't mean it like that. You two have only been married two years. Why let it get this bad..."
Leona reached for my hand with that practiced look of concern. I shook her off.
"Drop the act, Leona!"
"The second we divorce, you'll slide right into my spot, won't you?"
Two sentences. That was all it took for every face in the room to change.
"Don't you dare open your mouth just to smear people. You want a divorce, so you pin your dirty laundry on Leona and Nigel?"
Nigel grabbed my hand too, squaring up like he had something to prove.
"Lorraine, what the hell are you talking about!"
He clamped down on my wrist and wouldn't let go. The pressure was enough to grind bone.
"Let go!"
I ducked my head and sank my teeth into his hand. Nigel gritted his teeth and hurled me away.
My back slammed straight into the glass cabinet. The panel shattered on impact.
I reached behind me on instinct. My fingers came back slick with blood.
"Lorraine, you brought this on yourself!"
"Sit here and think about what you've done!"
Nigel left with Leona without a single glance back. His parents barged into the bedroom and carried out my wailing baby.
They didn't even call an ambulance.
They called it "reflection."
I lay on the floor and laughed. Tears slid from the corners of my eyes.
This was the man I'd loved for eight years. The man I'd defied my parents to marry.
Marrying far from home was a needle I'd swallowed willingly, and God, did it hurt going down.
"Lorraine, sweetie, we're at your complex..."
"Lorraine..."
My parents' voices came through the phone, but I no longer had the strength to answer.
Early the next morning, Nigel felt uneasy enough to head home and check.
The moment he stepped off the elevator, the front door was wide open.
He saw the dried bloodstains streaked across the floor, and the color drained from his face.
"Lorraine?"
"Lorraine!"
The living room was empty. The bedroom was empty. His brow knotted tight.
He pulled out his phone and dialed. The second the call connected, he exhaled.
"Babe, where are you?"
