The Wife He Thought He Broke

igator who knew the truth, and his face was a mask of professional neutrality as he witnessed the documents. Emily sat across from me, radiating a

aid once the final document was stamped. "Yo

ith Mark right now. He changed the locks. You can... you can stay at the old cottage my

It was a calculated insult, a way to rub m

said, my voice flat.

ecay, my phone rang. It was my father. I had blocked his number, so he must have

it. You gave away your daughter' s legacy. Your mother is so distraught s

," I

, the anger was gone, replaced by a deep, a

u held her in your arms and you wept with joy. You told me you' d never known a love like that. You sa

n my cheek. I remembered that day. I remembered the weight of her tiny body in my arms, the fierce, all-

I whispered, m

was my life now. An outcast, hated by everyone I loved. I had to see it through. The public humiliation was a necessary price. I was a ghost