Olivia rushed ahead to block the door. “Apologize, or you’re not leaving.”
“Are you even human? I’ve been stabbed!”
“She’s just a child. How much damage could she do? You’re not leaving until you apologize.”
“Ms. Hayes, it’s not his fault,” Marcus cut in smoothly. “I really did fall on my own. He’s hurt—take him to the hospital.”
“No. Tonight, he has to learn who makes the rules in this house.” Olivia’s tone was ice-cold, her stance unyielding.
Then I saw it—the glint of malice in her eyes. She wanted me dead.
In that instant, I understood. “You want me gone for good, don’t you?”
Olivia leaned in, whispering venom into my ear. “The company is about to go public. I can’t afford a divorce. If you die, it’s still better than divorcing you. You brought this on yourself.”
I shoved her away. I had to get out, while I could still walk. This insane woman really would kill me.
“Brother-in-law, I’ve always respected you. I never wanted to break up your family. Yes, I love Olivia, but I’ve never admitted it.”
Marcus stepped in front of me, eyes cold. He’d been waiting for this chance. “I can understand your jealousy, but you can’t hit her. I demand you apologize. If you won’t live with her anymore, then I’ll marry her myself.”
“Get out of my way.” I shoved him aside, but he was ready and swung at me.
Olivia lunged from behind, wrapping her arms around me, while Lily bit into me like a wild pup.
I couldn’t bring myself to strike my own child. With my leg already bleeding, Marcus quickly overpowered me and knocked me to the ground.
Just as despair closed in, the door burst open.
We lived in a suburban townhouse, with our parents on either side. All four elders rushed in.
“What’s going on here? Why are you fighting?”
“Mom…” Olivia sobbed, throwing herself into Grace Hayes’s arms. “Ethan Carter wants a divorce. I asked why, but he refused to say. He’s dead set on leaving me. When I wouldn’t agree, he hit me.”
Smack!
Henry Hayes stormed forward and slapped me hard. “Since she was a child, I’ve never laid a finger on her. And you dare raise your hand to my daughter?”
Before I could speak, my own father, Robert Carter, came up and slapped me as well. “So you’ve grown bold enough to strike a woman? Is this how I raised you?”
My leg throbbed worse, crushed under their blows. I felt weak, but all I wanted was to get to a hospital.
“You’re not going anywhere!” Henry blocked the doorway, glaring at me. “You’re going to explain yourself. If not for Olivia working herself to the bone, feeding and clothing you, you’d have nothing. And now you dare hit her? Are you even a man?”
Grace glared at me too. “Ethan, if you can’t explain, I’ll never forgive you.”
My mother, Margaret Carter, spoke as well. “Son, how could you? A grown man hitting his wife? That’s shameful. Apologize to Olivia right now.”
“I don’t need his apology,” Olivia said sweetly, “as long as he stays with me and doesn’t divorce.”
“You silly girl,” Grace scolded gently, “what’s so good about him that you protect him like this?”
“Three years ago, if not for Ethan, Lily and I would have died. For that alone, he can curse me, hit me, whatever—just not divorce me.”
I froze. I thought she hadn’t known I’d risked my life in that fire to save them. Turns out she always knew. And yet now she used it as a weapon against me.
