Chapters (38)
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- epilogue
“Wait, Violet. You need to hear this. You will never leave me. You will never betray the secrets in our marriage to anyone, certainly not to an attorney or the police. I promise you, you won’t.”
“Why? Are you going to kill me, Tolly? I’m already dead inside. That threat doesn’t discourage me, honestly.”
Tolly sighed and closed his eyes. “Do you ever think of your little girl in Florida, Violet? She’d be, what...about twelve years old now?” He reached to cradle Violet’s face in his hands and locked his eyes on hers. She struggled not to flinch. “I can locate her, you know.”
Violet knew this was his version of a veiled threat, and he would quickly lift the veil if she showed fear. She forced her face to remain smooth and calm, a summer lake on a quiet day. “Those records are sealed. I can’t find out where she is, and neither can you.”
Tolly conjured a condescending surgeon smile. “I have connections and access to records you’ll never have, Violet. But I love you, my darling. Please don’t make me hurt you ever again. Not in any way.” He used his thumbs to stroke her temples and kissed her forehead, then gazed into her eyes for another few seconds and walked away, jingling the keys in his pocket. “I’m going to the hospital. Please tell Beatrice I’d like fried chicken for supper.”
She watched Tolly pull his car into the street as she tried to slow her galloping heart. He’d never threatened her daughter, though he’d once said he’d kill Violet rather than live without her. Violet watched the car’s taillights as Tolly braked at the corner and realized she’d been waiting to exhale.
She was twenty-two the first time he’d hit her, and Tolly had literally begged on his knees for forgiveness. He pleaded with her to stay and swore he’d never hurt her again. She had believed him with all her heart.
Violet believed him the second time a year later, when he brought her a dozen roses and swore he couldn’t bear a moment without her as his wife. He would never raise a hand to her in anger one more time. He’d sobbed like a small child, and she’d been naïve enough to hold and comfort him.