Chapter 3 I'll Leave

He grabbed me by the throat and slammed me against the sink, his eyes bloodshot as he roared, "Layla! What are you trying to do to Elise this time? I already told you that as long as you leave her alone, I'll go along with whatever you want me to do! Why do you still have to bother her?"

My head struck the wall hard, causing my vision to go black, and blood began running down the side of my face.

…

By the time I came back to my senses and saw Drake standing there with his chest heaving, looking both terrified and furious, a bitter ache rose in my heart.

How long had it been since I'd seen Drake like this? I couldn't remember. The last time I'd seen him lose control like this seemed to have been when I suffered massive blood loss, and my heart briefly stopped beating.

That day, Drake, always calm and composed, knelt on the floor, looking utterly disheveled. He begged the doctors to save my life, slamming his head against the floor until his forehead bled.

Just like I was bleeding now.

As blood trickled down from my temple, Drake abruptly drew his hand back and looked somewhat lost.

"Are you okay?"

I quietly looked into his eyes and saw my own utterly desolate reflection staring back at me.

Then, I opened my mouth and said, "Drake, let's get a div–"

Before I could finish, his special ringtone interrupted me.

He had been about to check my wound, but his hand suddenly stopped. Without a second thought, he turned and answered the call instead.

At that moment, Elise's tearful voice came through the receiver.

Drake's expression instantly darkened. When he looked at me again, his eyes were overflowing with disgust and warning. "Layla, I'm only going to say this one last time. You can do whatever you want to me, but if you ever lay a hand on Elise again, I swear I'll take you down with me!"

The door slammed shut so quickly that I never got the chance to finish the rest of my sentence.

I wanted to tell him that we would be getting a divorce. I would set them free, as well as myself.

Just as I was lost in thought, there was a sudden crash. Then, a cup shattered against my head without warning.

After a burst of dull pain, the entire world began spinning. I staggered and fell to the floor.

Andy stood in the doorway, his face filled with the exact same anger Drake had shown.

"Mommy, you're a big liar! You keep saying you want to die, but you never actually do it! Aunt Elise is crying because of you!"

I remained frozen for a long moment before finally forcing myself upright again. Then, I looked into his eyes and said, word by word, "Andy, Aunt Elise won't ever have to cry again. Because tomorrow, I'm going to divorce your father. From now on, I won't be your mommy anymore."

When Andy heard my words, he fell silent.

When his gaze fell on the wound on my head, where blood was still seeping out, his hand clenched slightly.

Two seconds later, I heard footsteps approaching.

He slowly walked toward me and crouched down. Then, he gently covered the bleeding wound on my head with his hand.

Back when I accidentally cut my finger while cooking, he would come over like this too, gently blowing on the cut for me.

Thinking of this, my nose stung. Just as I was about to speak, he suddenly pressed down on my wound.

In that split second, agonizing pain exploded through my head. My entire body jerked, and tears instantly flooded my eyes.

After that, he pulled his hand away and lowered his head to look at the blood covering his palm.

Then, to my disbelief, he grinned.

He turned around and ran outside, his voice bursting with excitement. "Grandma! Hurry and tell Aunt Elise not to cry anymore! I got back at Mommy for her! I made Mommy bleed so much! Look at my hand if you don't believe me!"

Mom's voice immediately came from outside. "Oh, your little hand is filthy! Hurry up and wash it. Elise faints at the sight of blood. Don't scare her like that again."

Their footsteps quickly faded into the distance.

Finally, there was nothing left but the muffled thud of a door closing.

From beginning to end, not a single person came back to look at me. I stared blankly in the direction their voices had disappeared.

Unexpectedly, I felt calm.