The Perfect Victim
If the police had not held her back, she probably would have rushed over to hit me.
The livestream comments were calling me an animal.
It did not matter. I let them curse me all they wanted.
Claire seemed to process it slowly, and after a long pause, her voice trembled as her eyes reddened.
She asked, "Honey, can we really never go back to how things were? Does it really have to come to this?"
My answer never changed. "I'll see you in court."
From the very first time I tried to seek help and show my injuries, she had managed to flip the narrative instantly, making everyone ignore me, the victim, and comfort her instead, until somehow I was the one expected to tolerate her emotions.