His face went white, and he pulled Sylvia tight against him.
"Don't!"
Sylvia screamed, knocking the phone out of her mother's hand before she could dial.
Then she lifted her head and looked at me through the crowd.
Her eyes were dark, steady. Not a flicker of panic. Not a trace of guilt.
"Honey, let's talk."
The Fox parents cleared everyone out of the room.
That left just the three of us.
I didn't think there was anything left to talk about.
All I could think was: in this life, I hadn't sent Morris to prison. I hadn't let him rot behind bars. And yet she could still look me in the face without an ounce of shame.
For a moment, I couldn't tell if what filled my chest was bitterness or hatred.
I pulled off my wedding ring and tossed it into the trash.
My voice came out flat. "You swore an oath. If you ever lied to me, we'd divorce."
"Sylvia, I'll have the papers drawn up as soon as possible."
"Simon!"
She called after me from behind.
"I'm not divorcing you."
I spun around, and for the first time, I looked at her with real hatred.
"Then I'll file in court!"
"Go ahead and try!"
Sylvia's face was half-lost in the dim light of the room.
"You file for divorce, and I pull the plug on your mother's treatment. Immediately."
"I will make sure that no hospital in this city—no, in this entire country—will take her in."
"Sylvia!"
My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached. My whole body was shaking, and I couldn't make it stop.
I imagined how I must have looked—pathetic, powerless, completely broken.
Because I saw Morris flash that gleeful smile again.
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"If you love him, just divorce me! You two can be together out in the open! Why do you have to drag me into this?"
I looked at Sylvia through the tears burning in my eyes.
"I've already stepped aside for you. I have never done a single thing to wrong you! Why won't you just let me go?"
Sylvia's voice was perfectly calm.
"You haven't wronged me. But you've wronged Morris."
My eyes went wide.
"When did I ever—"
Sylvia let out a cold laugh.
"Every single girlfriend Morris ever had—you stole them, didn't you?"
"You, hiding behind that 'love tester' act, seduced every one of Morris's girlfriends. You slept with them. You pushed him into depression. He nearly killed himself!"
"You took that many people from him. It's only fair you find out what it feels like to have your own wife taken away."
"And your mother! Do you dare tell me what really caused her stroke?"
"Your mother went to Morris's wedding to cause a scene—all to help you steal yet another woman. She got screamed at until she collapsed. Your mother lying there half-dead? That's what she deserved."
My head exploded. A roar of white noise drowned out everything, and before I knew it, I was standing right in front of them.
My hand cracked across Sylvia's face.
But when I raised it again, swinging toward Morris—
Sylvia shoved me back.
"Enough! Even now, you're still bullying him!"
I wiped the tears from my face. Every word came out through gritted teeth.
"I never did any of that. None of it. Sylvia! Morris is the one who stole my girlfriends. He's the one who eloped with my ex at the wedding. He's the one who sent my mother into a stroke!"
"There are witnesses. There are text messages, all saved on my phone. You can check for yourself—"
"Enough!"
Sylvia's palm struck my face, cutting me off mid-sentence.
Her expression was ugly with contempt.
"Even now, after everything, you still won't admit it. You still won't repent."
