The silence stretched, thick enough to suffocate. It seemed the sting of his own hand against my face finally reminded him who I was.
Not just his wife.
His *patient*.
"Senior Brother!" Zoe grabbed his arm. "Fiona has a heart condition! How could you hit her?"
*Bravo.* But I was done being the audience for this particular melodrama.
I shoved Adrian aside, ignoring the shock frozen on his face, and dragged my suitcase into the elevator.
"Remember to sign the papers, Adrian." The doors began to close. "Don't keep Dr. Preston waiting."
Outside the villa complex, I stood on the curb, shivering in the night air. My fingers brushed my cheek. Tender. Hot.
That was the first time Adrian had ever raised a hand against me.
And he had done it for *her*.
My phone felt heavy in my palm. My thumb hovered over my mother's contact. The screen blurred as tears finally threatened to spill.
No.
My parents were elderly. I couldn't burden them with this wreckage.
I hailed a taxi to an apartment my parents had bought for me before the marriage. Small. Dusty. But safe.
The familiar furnishings wrapped around me like a forgotten embrace. The tension that had coiled around my spine finally loosened.