"Go wait for me outside, okay? Mommy will come get you soon."
I walked her to the door and closed it behind her.
She must have sensed what I was about to do. Her fists pounded against the door, and she started crying, calling for me.
The bridge of my nose stung. My throat clenched so tight it hurt.
I was stubborn by nature. Proud my whole life. I had never once bowed my head or backed down.
When my parents tried to guilt me with everything they'd done for me, demanding I drop out of school and marry some middle-aged bachelor back home, I stole my own ID and birth certificate and cut them off for good.
When Alvin used the threat of leaving me with nothing to keep me in line, expecting me to swallow his affair in silence, I filed for divorce on the spot and fought tooth and nail to win custody of my daughter.
But now, under Fiona's gaze — the triumph she could barely contain —
I bent. Inch by inch.
My eyes throbbed with pressure. I ground every last shred of humiliation and fury between my teeth and swallowed it whole.
Just as I was about to force that apology through my clenched jaw —
A voice came from behind me. Familiar. Cold as steel.
"She doesn't need to apologize."