Memories flooded me—ten years of rebuilding, the nights we stayed late at the factory, the time she carried my jacket through winter, the promise she made when my ribs were broken. All of it now felt like a bargain she had rescinded. I had loved her with a trust that made me blind; now that trust lay in pieces. I wondered who had quietly replaced the woman I knew.
The police officer met Clara’s gaze and hesitated.
“Boss Lynn, Ethan is your husband. If you press charges, he’ll go to jail and get a criminal record. That follows him for life. Are you sure?”
Clara’s face was unreadable; she lifted her chin.
“I’m sure. Unless he kneels and publicly apologizes to Felix, swearing never to strike him again.”
Her calm unmoored me. I forced a smile I didn’t feel.
“Clara, are you sure? You want me to beg a mistress?”
“What mistress?” she snapped. “Don’t slander. Felix is my brother—my benefactor’s son.”
I let the sneer show. “Stop pretending. I saw the way you look at him.”
She stared at me for a long moment. “I didn’t betray our marriage,” she said.
“Fine. Wait for the court.”