"Full custody makes sense. You'll be recovering. You won't be stable."
I stared at him. "I just saved your life!"
"And I appreciate that," he replied, adjusting his blanket as if we were discussing the weather. "But appreciation doesn't equal love."
I feared for Chloe more than for myself.
"I just saved your life!"
When I was discharged and arrived home, walking up the stairs felt like climbing a mountain.
Chloe hovered beside me, careful not to touch my stitches.
"Does it hurt, Mommy?"
"A little," I admitted. "But I'm strong."
She hugged me gently. "I'm proud of you."
Nick sat in the kitchen, scrolling through his phone. He didn't look up.
"I'm proud of you."
Not wanting to take Nick's threat of divorce lightly, I tried to get ahead of things.
A week later, I logged into our joint bank account from my phone. My hands shook when I saw the transfers: $5,000, $10,000, and another $8,000. They were all withdrawals I'd never approved!
That night, I confronted him.
"Where's the money going?" I asked, holding my phone up.
Nick barely glanced at it. "I'm restructuring assets."
"For what?"
"For my future."
"Where's the money going?"
