Page 104 of Break Me Not

“Agreed.”

I tied my hair up with a band I kept on my wrist.

“Now this is what's going to happen. We're going to go to the police. Not only am I going to file another report against you, but I'm also going to show them all the texts you sent me where you threatened to kill me and Claire if I didn’t show up today.”

His face twisted in anger. “I never sent those texts!”

“Really?” I pulled out my phone and showed him the most recent messages. “Because you actually did.” His bewildered expression only annoyed me further. “What? You thought you were the only one with connections? Come on.”

I shoved the phone back in my pocket and turned to show him the display with the video of him choking me and almost stabbing me.

“And this will go online,” I added with a sweet smile. “You and your little friends won’t be able to do anything once the public gets a hold of this.”

I watched as it finally sank in. “You fucking planned this.”

Andy grimaced and looked at me. “I can't believe you married this guy. He’s kind of stupid.”

“Who are you anyway?”

Andy just shrugged. “A friend who just happens to love a little bit of payback.”

“I really owe you for this one,” I told her as I started packing things up. “Oh, yeah. I almost forgot the best part! You're going to be so upset that I got away that you're going to burn down the house and try to burn yourself along with it. I'm sure you can figure out how to get out of those ropes pretty fast before you… you know. Die.”

He struggled against them, but they wouldn’t budge.

“You bitch! You're fucking crazy!”

I hauled the bag over my shoulder and motioned for Andy to leave. She nodded, sparing my ex-husband one last disgusted look before she started toward the door.

“I'll start the car for you!”

And then it was just me and him alone.

I walked up to him and grabbed his face in my hands.

“You probably expect me to say that you ruined my life and blah blah. But it's far from that. Actually, since I got rid of you, I was able to have a life I never would've dreamed of. I have Claire, a job I love, and the love of my life. You tried to take everything from me, and now you'll pay for it.”

I pulled my hand back and sent him one last final slap across the face. Blood came out of his mouth.

“Oh yeah—think twice about who you talk to about this.” I leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Who do you think they'll believe this time? The crazy, jealous ex-husband who now has a record, or the pitiful divorced middle-aged woman who just wanted to protect her kid?”

I dropped the knife into his bound hands. “Get to work on that before it’s too late, hm?”

Turning away, I walked through the house. I let my eyes linger on the places where Claire had grown up.

The stairs she had almost fallen down too many times.

The corner where she would play hide-and-seek with me every morning.

The kitchen where she and I would cook all the meals together.

I still remembered her laughter as a toddler when she tried to make a cake with me.

I poured gasoline over all of it and headed straight to the back door. I wished I could go upstairs, but I knew that if I lingered, the plan wouldn't work. Saying one last goodbye, I threw the canister inside, along with the lighter.

The flames burst to life immediately, but I let myself take it in before turning and running out. Andy was already waiting in her car, so when I ran in, we pulled away. I didn't miss my ex-husband running out of the house and down the street behind us.

“Pity,” Andy said as she looked at him through the rearview mirror.