“Sis, I thought you hated that trash. Is Liz
snitching on me?”
“Put her on the phone. I want to talk to her!”
I took the phone.
く
I heard a woman moaning in the background.
Sarah looked like she was about to cry.
“Liz, just get out of there in a week, after
you’ve recovered,” she said.
2
After I got out of the hospital, I was all zen.
Jake even Venmoed me some spending
money.
It was the first time he’d ever shown me any
kind of consideration in seven years.
Usually, if he texted me, I’d reply a hundred
times over.
く
But this time, I just declined the payment.
He sent me a voice note, sounding pissed.
“Liz, don’t be an idiot. Take the money or
don’t. I don’t care!”
That night, Jake brought Brittany back to the
house.
Seeing my blank expression, his face soured,
and he stormed off to his study to do a video
conference.
Brittany sidled up to me, a sneer playing on
her lips.
“Look at you, your body’s all ruined after
having a kid. If I were you, I’d be too
embarrassed to be seen with Jake.”
Sony !! She provoked the, iu yu ailei nier
But now, I just watched her act all crazy.
My stare seemed to freak her out.
When Jake came out of his study, she
grabbed a fruit knife from the counter and
slashed her palm.
Blood everywhere.
Brittany shoved the knife in my hand and
collapsed on the floor.
“Mrs. Smith, I just like Jake. I just want to
spend time with him. You’re trying to kill
me?!”
This was her usual trick.
く
Usually, I’d drop the knife and try to explain to
Jake that Brittany was faking it.
But this time, I didn’t drop the knife. Instead, I
played along with her little drama.
Jake was still Jake.
He shoved me out of the way.
“Liz, you need to chill out. You want to be a
murderer?”
I fell to the ground, the knife slicing my wrist.
I stared at the wound, dazed, and heard
Jake’s cold voice.
“Apologize to Brittany!”
く
I just stayed still. Jake pulled me to my feet
and shoved me in front of Brittany.
I picked up the knife and slashed the same
spot on my wrist again. I looked at Jake and
smiled.
“Is that apology enough for you? If not, I can
always…”
“Enough, Liz!”
Seeing the blood pouring from my wrist, Jake
snatched the knife away, a hint of worry in his
eyes.
“Are you insane?”
He noticed the scars all over my wrist.
His voice was shaky.
“What are all these marks?”
Over the last seven years, Jake brought
women home all the time.
And they were never the nice type.
They were always like Brittany, always trying
to set me up.
Some scars were from Jake’s mistresses,
others from Jake defending them.
Jake stared at my wrist for a long time, so
long that I thought he’d remember where the
scars came from.
But then he smirked.
“Liz, trying a new routine? Can’t catch me
cheating, so now you’re cutting yourself to
get my attention?”
Jake gripped my wrist tightly, making me
wince.
