Chapter four

David, no, Christian, was seated beside Sofia . He looked up when he saw me. For a second, I thought I saw regret. Then I realized it was what it was. Fear of inconvenience. Like I was a problem he needed to deal with, not a person.

Sofia kept staring at the television. As though this were any other night. As though nothing mattered.

"Here," Christain said, holding out a manila folder. "We thought it would be easier this way. No lawyers. No dragging out the inevitable. Just sign."

He held out a pen as though doing me a courtesy.

I did not move. I looked at the folder. Then at the check in his other hand.

"Twenty million," he said, as though that kind of money meant anything anymore. "Tax-free. It's already done. All you have to do is sign the papers and take it."

I didn't say a word.

He waved the folder again. "Nadine . Let's not make this harder than it has to be."

My fingers clenched on the envelope I was holding. I took a step forward. One more step. Close enough to see the faint smirk tug at Sofia 's mouth.

I took the folder.

I took the check.

And I ripped them both in half.

Then I ripped them again. And again. I ripped them like they ripped me apart. Shreds of lies and signatures fell to the floor like snow. I gathered what was left and threw it right at Christain 's chest.

"There," I said. "There's your easy way."

Christain jumped up. "What the hell are you doing?"

"You think you can buy me? Like I'm some cheap…"

Before I could finish, his hand slapped across my face.

It was swift. Loud. My head snapped to the side. My skin seared and my ears rang. But I didn't fall.

Sofia cried out. "Christain !"

I swung back slowly, eyes flashing, jaw set. My cheek throbbed, but I didn't care.

I raised my hand and slapped him back. Hard.

But in the scuffle, he moved.

And my hand hit her.

Sofia reeled backward, holding her face. "You hit me!"

"Good!" I shouted. "You deserve worse!"

Christain lunged at me. "You crazy bit…"

I shoved him with both hands. He reeled backward and collapsed into the coffee table. A vase tipped over and shattered.

I didn't let up.

I turned and grabbed the floor lamp that was standing next to the sofa and smashed it against the wall. It snapped in half. I kicked the table. Glass splintered. I grabbed an ornamental bowl and flung it at the television screen. It shattered with a loud crack.

Sofia screamed again. "You're destroying everything!"

"Exactly!" I shouted. "Everything you've built on lies!"

I grabbed a photo album from the shelf and ripped it apart. Pages flew everywhere, memories I had thought were real now nothing more than untrue photographs of an untrue life.

I walked into the kitchen. Drew out drawers, grabbed the utensils, and flung them like knives into the wall. I grabbed the toaster and rammed it into the tile. I found the wedding china Sofia had always bragged about and dropped it, plate by plate, watching each one shatter into perfect, lovely pieces.

"Nadine , stop!" Sofia shrieked, voice cracking. "Just take the money and leave!"

"You can't tell me what to do anymore!"

I grabbed a chair and slammed it into the refrigerator door. Another one into the cabinet. Wood splintered, metal twisted, shards flying everywhere.

Upstairs. I wasn't done.

I tore through our bedroom. Tore down curtains, tore the mattress off the bed and flipped it over. I searched every drawer, every closet. I found a stash of Sofia 's jewelry and flushed half of it down the toilet. I squirted her lotion bottles and perfume on the walls. I rubbed makeup into the carpet.

I got to the office and found Christain 's files. I did not even open them. I tore them all up and tossed them into the fireplace. I broke his laptop in half and kicked over the desk.

By the time I was done, the house was unrecognizable. Broken. Torn. Like me.

I went back downstairs, breathless. My hair stuck to my face. My hands bled a little from glass and wood.

Christain was in shock. Sofia wept on the floor. All of it around them, torn apart.

"Do you think I'm crazy?" I said, voice low and shaking. "Good. Let that frighten you."

I turned and ran outside.

Cold air slapped my face. My heart pounded.

I just stood there in the driveway, turned and gazed back at the house.

Then I gazed at the car.

Something clicked within me. Not anger. Just determination.

I got in. Turn the key. The engine began roaring.

I backed up slowly. Lined it up.

Then I floored it.

The car leaped ahead. I aimed for the corner of the house, the living room where they sat so smugly. The tires screeched, and the front of the car slammed into the wall.

The brick broke. Wood twisted. Glass broke. The porch cracked and collapsed.

Smoke hissed from the hood.

I backed up again. A tire rubbed against something metal. I braked and got out.

Sofia ran outside screaming. "You've lost your mind!"

"No," I said softly. "I'm finally thinking straight."

Christain came out next, limping slightly, eyes wide. "You're going to pay for this."

"You already paid," I said. "But it wasn't enough."

I grabbed my bag and walked down the street. They yelled behind me. I didn't listen.

My hands hurt. My face still burned. My chest hurt. But I was free.

They thought they won.

They thought money and manipulation were enough.

But I was not the same woman who had walked into that house.

I walked away and never looked back.

The wind smacked me in the face, but I welcomed it. It helped me to remember that I was real. Alive. Hurtful, but not destroyed.

I continued walking for a while, until I reached a gas station. I sat down on the curb outside. Breathing. Struggling not to cry. Struggling not to scream.

My phone buzzed. I ignored it. Probably them. Or the lawyers. Or whatever puppets they had doing their talking nowadays.

I pulled down the sun visor and examined myself in the mirror of a parked car. My cheek was flushed. My eyes were teary. My mouth trembled.

But I looked like me. Just me.

For the first time in a while.

I rummaged through my bag, pulled out a hair tie, and pulled my hair back. My hands were trembling, but I did it anyway. Then I took my phone and turned it off.

I just sat for a while.

Then I whispered to myself, "They don't own you. Not anymore."

And I walked into the night.

No plan. No safety net. Just me.

But for once, that felt like enough.