When I first met Zachery, he was gentle and attentive, and I thought it was real love. I didn't care that he was broke, that his career was going nowhere. I even pulled strings to get him a position as an art professor at the university.
Everything he had, I gave him.
But now he couldn't see where he stood, and he'd broken my heart beyond repair.
So naturally, I could take it all back.
After I hung up, I lay on the hospital bed with my eyes closed, resting.
A few minutes later, the door swung open and Zachery walked in.
"Ellie, are you still upset?"
His voice was cautious, tiptoeing. "Gertrude's parents will be here in ten minutes. The university knows about the incident too. They want us to settle this."
"Just do it for me. Make this go away, okay?"
I let out a cold laugh.
Of course. From start to finish, the only thing he cared about was himself.
How badly I'd been hurt never even crossed his mind.
"And if I refuse?"
His expression darkened the instant the words left my mouth.
He leaned in close, dropping his voice low. "Don't forget, the caretaker looking after your brother works for me. You wouldn't want anything to happen to him, would you?"
"After all, he's the person you care about most."
I knocked the water cup off the nightstand.
My eyes locked onto Zachery, unblinking.
He was threatening me with my brother.
For the first time, I realized I had never truly known this man I'd spent five years with.
"Zachery, if you lay a single finger on my brother, I will make your life a living hell."
The look in my eyes startled him. He softened immediately. "I was just talking, Ellie. As long as you cooperate, things can go back to the way they were."
I tugged at the corner of my mouth but said nothing.
Back to the way they were?
Zachery was dreaming.
Ten minutes later, the Shepherd family arrived.
They brought a crate of mangoes. The one thing I was severely allergic to.
"Mrs. Barnes, our Gertie knows she was wrong. You're such a gracious woman, surely you won't hold it against a young girl."
"This is just a little something from us. Please, try one?"
The words had barely landed when Gertrude reached out to peel a mango for me, the excitement in her eyes impossible to hide.
So they knew about my allergy. They'd brought them on purpose to torment me.
I couldn't take it anymore.
"Enough! I'm allergic to mangoes. Are you trying to kill me?"