eth Wa

on the blank IOU: "Divorce Papers." I pressed the pen down with fina

as calm and flat as a still lake. "I ha

tory cooling-off period for divorces in this state. And then the proc

rain streaking down the hospital window. "

llway. I was alone again, a hollow in my chest w

, a vision of meekness in a pale dress, carrying a small, covered

laced with a feigned concern that grated on my raw n

escalate like this. He just... he loves me so much, you see, and losing our baby, it broke him." She dabbed at her eyes with a pristine tissue, but he

oice a low, dangero

d for the basket. "I brought you some soup. For your recovery," she sai

ed, pushing myself up, my

inting with something cold and sharp. "You think you

ell of the soup filled my nostrils, then a thick, lukewarm liquid was being forced between my lips. I choked, gagged, struggling against

d, my throat burning. She wiped her hands on a na

she asked, her voic

t flashed through my mind. "What did you put in

h. A reminder of what you lost. Of what we lost." She leaned closer, her eyes gleaming with a mani

d over me. I dry-heaved, bile burning my throat. The horror of her words, the ab

he watched me, her expression a grotesque

th something ancient and venomous. "You tried to take my family,

oalesced into a single, explosive rage. My hand shot out, fueled by an adrenaline I didn't k

or bur