My voice rasped. "It was her. Sally did this!"
But Darren's glare was merciless.
“You’ve gone too far, Eliana. All this, over a nursery?”
A laugh ripped from me, raw and bitter. "A nursery? It was our son’s, Darren. And you named her baby Alex?”
He exhaled like I was exhausting him. “Our son is gone. Stop clinging to irrelevant things.”
The words knocked the air from my chest.
I turned to leave. But his fist caught my hair, dragging me down to my knees.
“Clean up this mess. And apologize to Sally,” he thundered.
Shards cut into my knees. Blood dripped to the white tiles.
I didn’t move. Not fast enough.
For a heartbeat, his eyes softened, like maybe he pitied me.
Then his grip tightened, yanking me up so hard my scalp screamed.
"Do it, Eliana. Or l'Il make you."
ELIANA
"Fine-I'm sorry! Just let go, you're hurting me!"
My voice cracked. Darren's grip loosened in my hair, his anger faltering.
"I didn't know.." he muttered, looking guilty.
I didn't answer. I bent down and began picking up the shattered glass. The shards bit into my palms, but I kept going. My body moved on its own, cleaning like that would somehow stitch me back together.
Behind me, Sally's syrupy voice slid into the air.