He was desperate to stay inside the life I was rewriting.
And he just realized…
He didn't matter anymore and I didn't hold back anymore.
"Was this all it ever was for you?" I said, pacing slowly, that strange hollow buzz still burning in my chest. "Trading your sons like property. Playing god with everyone's life but your own. Did you ever give a fuck about anyone besides yourself?"
His jaw tensed, but I didn't stop.
"Not Andrew. Not me. Not even her—" My voice dropped. "You broke my mother until she stopped recognizing her own reflection. And you smiled while she disappeared into herself."
That was when he hit me.
The punch was fast, old soldier-fast. His knuckles cracked against my cheek with enough force to send me stumbling. I caught the edge of the table, but the blood came anyway... sweet, metallic and familiar.
His fist stayed clenched.
