She cried that he could not abandon her while she was scared and desperate, yet he answered that what frightened him most was realizing she had betrayed both him and his mother.
Megan slid a form toward me and I signed it because protecting my savings mattered more than protecting someone else’s lies. Officer Pierce wrote notes carefully while Brittany finally broke down crying with her hands covering her face.
Tyler picked up his car keys and told her that he would speak with a lawyer in the morning and that she needed professional help far away from our home. Before leaving she looked at me with exhausted anger and whispered that everything happening was my fault.
I did not respond because there was nothing left to say.
After the door closed Tyler remained in the living room with his shoulders slumped like a child who had just learned a painful lesson. He apologized quietly for doubting me and I placed my hand on his arm while telling him the only important thing now was that he never ignore warning signs again.
That night we ate soup together in silence and for the first time in weeks the house finally felt peaceful again.
