Page 84 of Killing Emma

“Aren’t you still curious to know what happened to me?” I glare at him. “Don’t you want to know?”

He takes a deep breath, eyeing me warily. “Just let me call the police, and we’ll talk it through with them. You can tell them you were kidnapped, you escaped, and this is all water under the bridge.”

“The divorce was finalized yesterday.”

“I know,” he says through gritted teeth.

“Had to hurt knowing you’re not getting my inheritance.”

“Fuck you, Emma,” he growls up at me, and then begins to stand to his feet. “You don’t know what you’re doing, showing up here like this.”

“I’ll be out of your hair as soon as you answer the question.”

“Okay, fine,” he snorts, leaning against the counter. “You wanna know why I hired someone to kill you?” He laughs, shaking his head and my heart sinks at the sarcastic tone. “It was always going to happen. Do you really think I married you because of anything other than your fortune? I mean, yeah, you were cute and all that. But come on, you’ve always been so… complicated.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I made a sacrifice for a good life, and I was fine until your mom died—and then you went weird. I was sick and tired of playing the nice guy. I was tired of hiding the other women I was seeing.”

“What?” I catch the plural version, and I get hung. “You were seeing more than Melanie?”

“Of course I was. You weren’t… The sex just… You weren’t ever really my type, Emma. You know that. We made things work because that’s what was expected of us. I was tired of dealing with you, and then you filed for divorce… It was a sign that it was time.”

He was always going to kill me.

“You bastard,” I whisper. “You’re psychotic.”

“I’m a sociopathic liar, talented with appearing to be empathic to get what I want. And no offense, but you were so… gullible. You’ve always been gullible. You have this thing in your head that makes you think you’re smart, but you’re just… not.”

“I loved you,” I say softly. The realization that he never loved me settling in. “And a decade of marriage was nothing but a game for you.”

“It was, I guess. I liked you for a while, but it faded. It’ll fade with Melanie, too, if it makes you feel better.” The sympathetic expression on his face sets something off in me…

And I see red.

“Fuck you,” I shout at him, causing him to jump.

“Never thought you had it in you,” he laughs, shaking his head at me. “Maybe you’re the crazy one.”

I shove him back again, but this time he’s ready. He pushes me back. I stumble backward, but I don’t fall.

“Tough bitch,” he snorts. “So what kept them from killing you? They’re supposed to be the best in the business.”

I smile at him. “I fucked him when he tried to kill me.”

Jared’s face grows red. “So you let some random asshole fuck you? But you cockblocked me for months.”

“You were boring,” I say with a shrug.

“Cunt,” he growls, coming at me. Major cuts him off, knocking him back to the floor, and I burst into laughter. “Get your dog!” He lets out a scream as Major latches onto his arm.

“Apologize,” I snap, ignoring his painful cries. He's being a fucking pussy.

“Fuck, Emma,” Jared whines. “Fine. Jeez. I’m sorry. You win. Divorce is done. Water under the bridge. Call off your dog." His voice breaks as a tear rolls down his cheek. "Please. We’ll go our separate ways.”

I take a deep breath, a foreign emotion washing over me. “Enough,” I call off Major and he returns to my side. Jared grabs his bloodied arm and stands to his feet, grimacing.

“Just get the fuck out of my house,” he groans. “Go live your life, and I’ll live mine. I lost. You won. Good for you. I’m going to clean up.”

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