“Why?”
Tears slide down her face.
“Because I wanted to believe she was the problem. If she was the problem, then I wasn’t doing something terrible.”
You look down.
That sentence lands harder than you expect.
Not because it excuses her.
Because it explains why people participate in cruelty.
They need the victim to deserve it.
Otherwise, they have to face themselves.
When Megan steps down, she passes your table.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
You do not answer.
Some apologies are seeds.
You are not required to water them.
Jason is ordered to repay marital funds spent on Megan, including jewelry, rent contributions, travel, and cash withdrawals. He loses any claim to your inheritance. The protective order remains. The assault charge proceeds separately, and he eventually pleads down to avoid trial, receiving probation, mandatory counseling, and a permanent criminal record.
It is not as much punishment as you want.
It is more than he expected.
The divorce finalizes eleven months after your parents died.
You sit in the courthouse hallway afterward with Aunt Ruth and Mr. Thompson. Your hands are folded in your lap. No wedding ring. No folder being thrown at you. No Jason standing over you.
Just quiet.
Aunt Ruth nudges your shoulder.
“How do you feel?”
You think about it.
