Page 139 of This Life of Mine

His face hardens. “That’s unfair.”

“What’s unfair,” I say, “is asking me to forgive a man who terrorized me—who assaulted me—because you think a new baby magically fixes years of violence and entitlement.”

“A new life doesn’t erase old damage.”

A void develops between us.

“I’m not dropping the charges,” I say. “Not now. Not ever.”

I turn back toward the shop, my hands shaking—not with fear, but with the release of something long overdue.

“And if you ever come near me again,” I add, with my back turned, “make sure it’s with an apology—not another request to sacrifice myself so your family can stay comfortable.”

Something in me shifts. I feel charged.

I should stop. Alex told me not to push, to wait before we confront him.

But the words are already burning in my throat, and once they’re there, I can’t swallow them back.

I turn around and face him once more.

“Why do you want me dead?” I continue. “Why would you send someone to kill me?”

I search his face for cracks. Lies. Something rehearsed.

There’s nothing.

He looks genuinely bewildered.

“Lina,” he says, his brow furrowing. “What are you talking about?”

“Please don’t act surprised, David. Your hitman told me the Allister’s sent him.”

David looks horrified.

“Are you telling me someone actually tried to kill you?”

“Yes.” The word disappears into the quiet night.

David stares at me, confusion etched across his face. The glow from the storefront catches the silver threaded through his hair as he blinks once. Then again.

His gaze flicks between me and the empty space around us, searching for something that isn’t there. An explanation. A missing piece. His brow creases deeper with every passing second, like he’s trying to solve a puzzle that refuses to fit together.

“When?”

“Last night. They came into my home with a gun. Luckily, my…boyfriend was there and stopped him.”

His mouth parts slightly. A question forming.

“And this person told you my family was responsible?”

“He said he was hired by my ex’s parents.”

A passing car hums down the street before disappearing around the corner. The silence that follows feels impossibly loud.

David lets out a disbelieving breath.

“Lina, that’s absurd.”