At least he had the good sense to look embarrassed, but Marina didn’t even care. She’d given this man everything and he’d repaid her by destroying all their lives. And over what?

Nothing. Nobody.

“I made a mistake,” he said. “I fully admit that. I don’t know what I was thinking. Chastity could never be you.”

“Got that right. There’s not enough class in the world to get her to my level.”

He shook his head, clearly frustrated. “Marina, I’m trying to tell you that I’m sorry for everything and I don’t want a divorce. I want you to move back in. I want to be a family again.”

“You mean move back and clean your house and cook your dinner and do your laundry? No thanks. I paid my dues. I’m done.”

He blinked. “It’s our house. I never should have said the things I did.”

“No. You shouldn’t have. I didn’t deserve them, but since you knew you were dead wrong, you spouted a bunch of crap because you felt guilty. Well, you know what? Live with it. I hope you go to your grave knowing that you pissed away the best thing that ever happened to you.”

“I already know that,” he said, his tone now pleading. “I love you, Marina. I want us to be together.”

“What’s in it for me?”

His eyes widened and he stared.

She nodded. “Don’t have an answer, do you? You know why? Because there’s nothing in it for me. I gave everything and took nothing. You took everything and cheated. Why on earth would I want to go back to that? I’m so much better off on my own.”

His jaw twitched and she could tell he was angry. This wasn’t the way he’d expected the conversation to go.

“It’s that game warden guy, isn’t it?” he asked.

She laughed. “I figured you’d go there. You can’t wrap your mind around the fact that I’d rather live in this shack in the middle of nowhere than be married to you another day. And that guy is the reason your daughter isn’t still sitting in jail. So the next time you see him, instead of sneering, you might want to try saying ‘thank you.’ He cleaned up your mess. And did it for no reason other than he hated what was happening to Avery, whom he’d never even met before that day. Doesn’t it tell you anything, Harold? That a perfect stranger had to defend your daughter against your crap decisions? Do you see how far off the rails this has gone?”

He opened his mouth to speak but Marina put her hand up.

“You know what, don’t say another word,” she said. “I don’t care about any of them. Get off my property or I’ll get my shotgun. And if you think I won’t open fire on you for trespassing, take a second to remember who my mother is.”

It was probably the comment about her mother that got him because he jumped up and hurried down the steps.