My Husband's Treacherous Game

Fulle

refrigerator. Dollye' s triumphant smile froze, her fork halfway to her mouth. Casey' s mask of sweet innocence slipped, revealin

They had prepared for tears, for accusations, for a dra

me," I said, my voice still unnervingly steady. I pushed my

y steps measured. I could feel their collective gaze

nsl

in the hallway, his hand closing around my arm. "What the hell w

"It' s what you want, isn' t it?" I said, my voice flat. "It

hiss. "It' s just... to keep Mom happy. You know how she is. The

th a cold irony he didn' t seem to notice.

l withdraw them. I

my silence more damnin

' t be like this." He tried to pull me closer, to use the p

small, derisive laugh escaping my lips. "Like what, Holden? Accommodating? A

miliar flicker of frustration. I was not playing my part. I was not making this easy for

ith unspoken tension. I was an alien presence, my placid

he living room, a stack of magazines in her lap. "Fe

have scurried to obey

, a book open in my lap. I didn' t even look up

t thud. Her face, usually a mask of smug control, was a picture of disbelief. Casey, who

ye said, her voice tight

se, Dollye." She shot me a look that

art. I watched Casey come back down, her heels clicking angrily on the stairs, and hand the glasses to Dollye. I saw the

e announced, her glare fixed on me.

love to," I replied, tu

e a thin, white line. But they had painted me as the villain, the unstable, di

ushing Dollye' s wheelchair towards t

en sloped gently downwards towards a wrought-iron gate that opened onto the street.

on Dollye' s lap. As I drew level with them, Casey suddenly stumbled,

he wheelchair, now free, began to roll, pic

fingers brushing against the cold metal handlebar, trying to sto

when it

r seat. Her hand, strong and brutal, sho

eel caught on the edge of the stone pathway. I lost my

the asphalt

ure, shrieking panic. The s

n my leg. The world went black, then bur

hing I saw before the darkness consumed me was Dollye, sti

were both