“Christian, I don’t owe you an explanation, but I’m going to give you one. We were never happy. You were, but I wasn’t. And that was my fault. I shouldn’t have stayed. You treated me badly. You treated me like your possession, and you didn’t care how much it hurt me. And then, when I tried to leave, you threatened me. You held me against my will, and that is not okay. No woman deserves that, and especially not me. Now, the fact that you don’t understand why I’d want nothing to do with you speaks volumes. And the truth is, if you truly cared about me, you’d accept that. You’d leave me alone and move on with your life. But you’re not going to do that, are you?”
Christian stares at me for a moment and shakes his head. “You know what I think? I think this isn’t about me. It’s about him. This is because of that asshole, isn’t it? He’s got you convinced that I’m the bad guy. That’s what this is, isn’t it?”
“You have got to be kidding me,” I mutter, pinching the bridge of my nose. “This has nothing to do with Colby. This is about you and me, and how you treated me. It’s not complicated. It’s actually really simple. But clearly, you’re not hearing me.”
“I’m listening,” he insists.
“Good, because I’m only going to say this one more time. You and I are over. It’s done. It’s over, Christian. Do you understand?”
Christian reaches out and grabs my wrist, pulling me toward him. “River, don’t say that.”
“Let go of me.”
“Please, just—”
“Get your hands off her!” Colby barks, charging toward us. He reaches out, grips Christian’s forearm, and jerks him away from me.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” Christian screams, throwing a punch.
But Colby ducks it easily, and the momentum carries Christian forward, sending him stumbling to the ground. Lewis and the rest of the hands are running toward us, shouting and yelling, but their words are lost in the commotion.
“Stay down, Christian,” Colby growls.
“Go to hell!”
Christian is scrambling to his feet when Lewis and another hand, Jackson, reach him. They grab him and hold him back as he struggles.
“Let me go, assholes! I swear, if you don’t let me go, you’re gonna regret it.”
“I’ll regret not breaking your fucking neck,” Colby spits, moving toward him.
“Stop,” I cry, putting myself between them. “You said you called the cops already, right? Then let’s just wait for them. We don’t need any more violence. This has gone on long enough.”
Right on cue, the wail of sirens cuts through the air, and Christian’s shoulders slump in defeat. Christian tries to squirm away, but Lewis and Jackson are holding him tight.
“Easy,” Lewis tells him like he’s talking to a spooked animal. “Just relax, buddy.”
“Get your hands off me!” Christian demands, trying to jerk his arms free.
“We will. Soon as the police get here. Just hang tight. Don’t want you making things worse for yourself, do you?”
“Worse? How the fuck could this get any worse? I came here to talk to my girlfriend. My girlfriend. Not you, you son of a bitch. So let go of me. Let me go, goddamn it.”
Nobody responds, and the ranch hands stand firm until two officers arrive on the scene. I take a deep breath before I reach into my pocket and pull out the piece of paper I’ve kept on me every single day since I left Christian. Every time this man has contacted me, I’ve thought about filing charges, but some twisted sense of loyalty to the man I once loved kept me from doing it.
But not anymore.
Today is different.
Because today, I’m not going to let him walk all over me. Today, I’m going to put an end to his abuse once and for all.
