"You're being emotional."
"I'm being human."
"You're being manipulated by a criminal who's using dead children’s parents to get into your pants."
The words explode between us like a bomb, crude and vicious and designed to hurt.I can see the instant regret on Ethan's face, the knowledge that he's gone too far.
But it's too late to take it back.
"Get out," I whisper, my anger taking over me.
"Evangeline, I didn't mean?—"
"Get out of my sight."My voice rises to something I barely recognize."How dare you?How dare you talk about Marcus and Calla's children like that?"
"I'm sorry.I misspoke.I'm worried about you, about us.This whole situation is making us both say things we don't mean."
But he did mean it.I can see it in his eyes, the way he really views this situation.The children are obstacles.Hades is a threat.And I'm property that's been damaged and needs to be repaired.
"The only thing I regret saying is yes when you proposed."
The words come out before I can stop them, raw and honest and absolutely final.Ethan's face goes through a series of emotions; shock, anger, calculation, and finally cold fury.
"You don't mean that."
"I've never meant anything more in my life."
Maybe I was hoping he'd surprise me.Apologize.Show me he still knew how to love me the way I needed.Part of me needed a reason to stay...and he gave me every reason to leave.
"You're upset.You're not thinking straight.Tomorrow you'll realize?—"
"Tomorrow I'll realize I should have done this months ago."
My hand trembles as I reach for the ring.For half a second, I hesitate, like my body’s still catching up to the decision my heart already made.
Then I slide it off.The diamond that once felt like a promise now feels like a shackle.
"We're done, Ethan."
"You can't be serious."
"I'm completely serious."
I hold the ring out to him, and for a moment he just stares at it like he can't comprehend what's happening.Like the idea that I might actually leave him has never crossed his mind.
"This is about him," he says finally, the words coming out flat and certain."This is about that biker."
"This is about me finally remembering who I used to be."
And it's true.Standing here, facing down the man who's been slowly suffocating me for two years, I can feel pieces of my old self clicking back into place.The woman who used to speak her mind, who used to fight for what she believed in, who used to feel alive in her own skin.
"You'll change your mind," Ethan says, but there's uncertainty in his voice now."When the reality of what you're taking on hits you, when you realize what you're giving up, you'll come crawling back."
"I won't."
"Five children, Evangeline.Do you have any idea what that will do to your life?Your career?Your social standing?"
"I don't care about my social standing."
