“Do you honestly think I’m blind? You weren’t the least bit interested in anything we were shown in the shops, and you continually and arrogantly proved it by walking away while the clerk was talking.”

“They were selling. Not talking.”

Joanna’s nostrils flared. “It’s their bloody job to sell and I, for one, wanted to hear what they had to say, but you didn’t care about that, did you? How many times did I ask for your opinion, and you just shrugged and said it didn’t matter. Silly me...I thought you were talking about baby furniture.”

“I care about you.”

“Oh, that’s a bunch of crap. If you cared about me, you wouldn’t be asking me to kill my child just because...just because you’re a coward.”

“I am not a fucking coward. I just didn’t think this decision through and—”

“And now you regret it. Right?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“I just don’t want you to die!”

“I’m not going to die,” Joanna said, rolling her eyes. “And if, by chance, I do, that’s my decision. Now, as far as I’m concerned, this discussion is over.”

Watching as Joanna headed to the wardrobe, Addison blurted, “I love you!”

Joanna spun around, waiting only for a second before she took four long strides to reach her target. Not holding back one ounce of strength, she slapped Addison across the face, splitting her lip in the process. “How dare you try to use that to change my mind!” Joanna shrieked. “After all these bloody months of you not being able to speak those words, you suddenly understand what they mean? Well, fuck you, Addison, because they’re too late! They mean nothing to me now because you’ve shown your true colors, and they are ugly!”

“Can’t you see I’m trying to save your life?” Addison said, wiping the blood from her lip.

“I honestly don’t think you really want to know what I see right now,” Joanna said, giving Addison the once over. “But I can tell you this, you and I are done.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Do you really believe after all of this, I’d want to stay with you?”

“I just...Joanna, I can’t bear the thought of losing you. Can’t you see that?”

“No, all I can see is someone who’s selfish and confused and jumping to conclusions because they give her the easy way out, but you don’t have to worry about that any longer, Addison, because I’m going to give you your way out. We’re done. I’ll be moving back to the east wing today. We go back to the way we were. We don’t speak. We don’t eat meals together...and we sure as hell will never sleep in the same bed again.”

***