"You swore on my father's grave—and your grandmother's—that you would only ever love me. That you'd never hurt me." I tilted my head. "Have you forgotten? Or are you waiting for lightning to strike her tombstone?"
I smiled. "My father wouldn't care, of course. To him, you were always just an outsider."
His grandmother was his only weakness. At her name, the veins in his neck bulged.
He lunged.
His hand clamped around my throat, slamming me to the floor. "Grace, you've gone too far!"
I didn't struggle. Just stared up at him, eyes void of fear. Perhaps my cold detachment terrified him more than screaming would have. He released me as if burned.
Then the switch flipped. He scooped me from the floor, trembling violently.
He carried me to the guest room, kicked the door shut, and crushed me into a suffocating embrace.
"Gracie, I told you! Once the baby is a month old, I'll remarry you. Why do you have to be so difficult?"
He seized my hand and forced me to slap his face. Over and over.
"Hit me. Punish me. I couldn't control myself, okay? But I need this child." His voice broke. "Gracie, I'll give you money. Whatever you want. Go anywhere—just tell me where you are. Don't leave me."