He seized my waist and yanked me into him so roughly my arms ached from the force.
"If you'd been this obedient from the start, you could've saved yourself the pain."
"Willow, I love you."
He said all the pretty things that night. All I felt was the humiliation.
A long time later, he was finally satisfied. He lit a cigarette.
"Relax. As long as you behave, I'll cover all of your grandma's treatment costs."
I turned my face away so he wouldn't see the tears sliding down.
The moment I had the money, I transferred it to Uncle Ferris. But I was one step too late.
"Willow, it came on too fast. Your grandma's gone."
My legs went out from under me. My forehead cracked against the corner of the table and I didn't feel a thing.
I still couldn't save her.
Before the grief had even begun to loosen its grip, my phone lit up with a message from an unknown number.
"Let's meet. This is Zelda Harding."
We'd agreed to meet at the coffee shop where I worked. I walked in and there was Zelda Harding, settled into the window seat like she owned it.
Her eyes moved over me top to bottom—slow, deliberate, the kind of look that made you feel inspected.
"Ms. Fox, is it? I'd like a cappuccino. And I'd like you to make it for me personally."
I paused for a beat, then made her the coffee.
When I set the cup down beside her, she took a single sip and pushed it away with a look of distaste.
Moments later, she doubled over, clutching her lower belly, pain twisting across her face.
"Willow Fox, you're trying to hurt me!"
"I know you hate me, but that's between us. Why would you go after my child!"
Zelda collapsed, knocking the coffee cup off the table. It shattered against the floor.
Liquid pooled across the tiles. Shards sliced into her hand.
I rushed to help her up, but someone grabbed me hard and hauled me back.
Drew had appeared in the coffee shop without my noticing, and what he'd walked in on was Zelda crumpled on the ground.
"Willow, what are you doing to her!"
His voice was thick with disgust and fury.
He strode to Zelda and scooped her off the floor, and the tenderness in his eyes cut into me like something physical.
"Drew, it hurts, my stomach hurts so much..."
Zelda curled against his chest, face drained white, tears falling without stopping.
But I caught it. When her gaze flicked toward me, there was a flash of triumph at the bottom of her eyes.