All I want to do is walk away from this woman. But so many questions circle around my head. I can’t let them go even if I want to.
Why do you let your husband her?
Why do you manipulate her?
Why do you stay with him?
Why do you love a monster?
Why do you do nothing?
Why.Why. WHY.
So many whys cluster in my head, but there’s one that keeps poking me.
Why did you kick her out?
The rational thing to do is leave in the middle of her mumbling, but for some strange reason, my feet stay glued to the floor. Images of Rose crying and being utterly miserable flash in front of my eyes. I look back at the weekend and all I remember is her sadness. Despite the date that cheered her up, when we came home she cried in my arms and then fell asleep. I held her the entire night, not moving at all because I didn’t want to wake her up.
My self-control starts to wither away at the thought of it.
Tension wraps around my body like a vine, tightening with every passing minute.
I can’t leave without knowing.
So I lift my head and study her face. Her eyes are red, with dark circles shadowing them, and sadness is written clearly across her features.
“Listen, I carea lotabout your daughter, despite what you think.” My words capture her attention instantly, and I keep going. “I know you don’t particularly like me which is fine because I don’t fucking like you either.”
I narrow my eyes on her. “But I want to know one thing and I want the answer.”
She stares at me in waiting.
“Why did you kick her out of her own home?”
She closes her eyes, hiding away all her emotions from my sharp gaze. My jaw ticks at her tactic.
For fuck’s sake.
Her bottom lip trembles, and she slowly looks at me. “I did it… to protect her.”
“Protect her?” I ask, a little too aggressively,
“Yes.” She nods. “Alex was saying all these things, secrets that were supposed to stay hidden from Hope. She didn’t need to know that we were drunk when we… she didn’t need to know that her father suggested that we get rid of her. She didn’t needto know that for a week I hated that I was pregnant because all I felt was dread. All I could think about was that my nursing career is over. I can’t be a mother and a student. I needed to make a decision.
“Which I did. When I got my first ultrasound and saw her in the shape of a very small bean I knew I wanted her. That I would do anything for her. So I convinced Alex to keep her. But…”
A hiccup breaks out of her but she quickly recovers as if she needs to let these words out of her. “I knew he loved me and it took months for him to come around the idea of having a kid.”
Looking up at me, she says, “That night I recognized the hate and anger in him. I didn’t want Hope to get hurt by it so I asked her to leave.” A tiny, empty smile hangs on her lips. “And I knew you’d come for her. Since, I’ve noticed that you’re awfully fond of my daughter.”
That’s because I love her.
She continues, “Believe it or not, all I’ve ever done is to protect Hope. I made sure I was the target of his hits and victim of his anger. I’d get her to leave the room so she wouldn’t get in his way. I tried my best, but then he came back and started hurting her.”
“He’s been abusing her, for months,” I grit out.
She nods. “I know. I’ve seen the marks.”
