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If my jaw could hit the floor, it would.
“Idon’t care aboutyou?You can’t be… You’re fucking serious right now.” I don’t need to ask the question; I already know. I shake my head. “I’m never going to be a priority for you, am I? There will always be some man who comes along and—”
“He wasn’t just ‘a man’—he was my husband!”
I continue on, ignoring her. “There will always be some man who means more to you than I do because he pays your bills and keeps you in comfort. I was nothing more than a burden, wasn’t I? You probably liked when I ran away. Then you didn’t need to worry about me anymore.”
“I didn’tlikewhen you ran away,” she says. “You abandoned us mid-deal with the Sokolovs and we had to scramble together enough money to—”
I can’t stop myself from laughing. None of this is funny, but it’s all just so absurd.
“I’m done with you,” I tell her. “You will never care as much about me as you do yourself, so I’m done. Forever.”
There’s a single second of stunned silence before she launches herself at Ivan again. If he wasn’t there, I know she’d be screaming directly into my face.
“As if I’d want anything to do with you! You’re a murderer! You’re some criminal’s whore and a murderer! I never want to see you again!” she shrieks. “You’re no daughter of mine.”
“We’re done here.” With far too much ease, Ivan picks her up and carries her out of the room.
A ridiculous end for a ridiculous woman. It’s an oddly fitting goodbye.
67
IVAN
Evaline tore into the waiting room like a wild animal, but there’s no fight left in her by the time we get to the sidewalk outside. I shove her through the automatic doors and she stumbles towards the curb.
“Where am I supposed to go now?” she whispers again and again in a hollow, broken voice.
I don’t think she’s talking to me, but I’m happy to answer anyway. “I don’t give a fuck. Anywhere but here would be a good start.”
I want her as far away from Cora as possible. But I also know if she stays here, I’ll kill her. And I’ve done enough of that for one night.
Her husband tried to force Cora into marriage and then, when she refused, kill her. And Evaline doesn’t give a damn. She never tried to save Cora. She never tried to make things right. She is more worried about her life than Cora’s.
Part of me once thought Evaline was like my mother. She was trapped with a monster and didn’t have another choice. But now, Alexander is dead. She is free to make her own choices. And with this newfound freedom, her first thought was to get to the hospital and scream at her daughter for having the audacity to save her own life.
This bitch doesn’t deserve Cora.
“Alexander was all I had.” Her shoulders sag. It looks like she’s caving in on herself. “I have nothing left.”
“You could have had your daughter.”
Her eyes are dark, shadowy caverns when she looks up at me. “Cora hates me. She has hated me for years. It’s why she killed Alexander. She wants to punish me for—”
“Ikilled Alexander.” I pause and let the confession sink in. “Cora didn’t pull the trigger; I did. And I did it because, just like you, he slapped Cora. I’ll kill anyone who hurts her.”
Her eyes go wide and she stumbles another half-step back.
Good. She should be scared.
“And just so you know—so you can spend the rest of your days thinking about all the many ways you’ve fucked up—he hit her because Cora attacked him after he said he was going to killyou. She was defendingyou.”
Evaline’s jaw drops. “He didn’t say that,” she whispers. But I can tell she doesn’t believe it.
“He sure as fuck did. After everything you’ve done to her, Cora was still trying to protect you. Your daughter was looking out for you even though you have never once looked out for her.”
A tear rolls down her cheek. “I didn’t know. I thought—I need to talk to her.”
