A Wife's Vengeance, Two Lives

ightly her knuckles were white. She didn't look at me once. The apartment was smaller than our old ho

licked shut behind us, her

arm, her fingers digging into m

, her face close to mine. "What we

ooked at her hand on my a

harp, stinging slap echoed in the quiet apartment. My

she had never been physically violent, just emotionally neglectful. But my une

o

ly, meeting her furious ga

voice cold and steady. "Because if you are, I hope you have a lot of makeup. It's goi

in shock and fury

t creating a 'safe and nurturing environment.' What would the parents, the teachers, the school

s, the war between her anger and

back from my arm as

ow my rules," she said, her voice trembling wit

lmly. "As long as the rules don't

omething in my eyes she didn't recognize, something that wasn't

said, turning away from me. "Your

rd. The walls were bare, the furnitu

thodical. Then I took out the new phone my mo

blankly at the wall, probably replaying the scene in the lawyer's

he red mark blooming on my ch

m, where the faint imprints of

count. I uploaded the pictures. I didn't

w guardian. She s

nd walked to the kitchen. I poured myself

kitchen counter, sippi

tion. The trap was set. Now, I just