On the Ruins of His Regret I Soar novel Chapter 2

His expression hardened, his voice dropping to a dangerously low temperature. “Jessica Brown, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. You only get to say it once.”

A faint, humorless smile touched her lips. “Lance, I want a divorce. I don’t want your money. Just give me custody of our daughter and pay child support. I don’t want to be with you anymore. You and Catherine can have each other.”

With a frustrated growl, Lance yanked at the Windsor knot of his tie. “We’ll talk about this at home. Get in the car.”

Jessica slowly straightened up. Lance grabbed her wrist to pull her along, and the contact of his warm palm against her icy skin made him flinch. He stared in disbelief at the wrist in his hand; it was so fragile he felt it might snap. A flash of pain for her crossed his deep-set eyes.

Jessica saw it, and the urge to laugh was overwhelming.

What was he regretting? What was he pitying? What guilt could he possibly feel? Wasn’t he the one who’d sent her to that place? Hadn’t he personally instructed the doctors to “teach her a lesson”? Did he have any idea what a psychiatric hospital was really like?

She got into the back seat.

The drive was silent. She was exhausted. The electroshock from the morning still made her muscles twitch uncontrollably at times. Today had been mild, though. They must have known she was being picked up. On other days, when they used a higher voltage, she would lose control of her bladder. The image of herself lying in her own filth, convulsing, had been captured on countless phones.

Her silence unnerved Lance.

By the time they reached Lakeview Heights, the car had barely stopped when Jessica saw a scene in the yard that made her blood run cold. Catherine was on the swing set, and Amy was pushing her, her laughter echoing through the air. The breeze caught the hem of Catherine’s dress, making it flutter around her calves.

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