Page 76 of Whatever You Want

“You’re out of control, that’s what you are. And this stops today!”

She tensed, and I could see that my words had affected her. “I know you’re angry, but once you calm down, you’ll understand that I did this for the sake of our family. You love me and we belong together. Don’t you see that? I’ve never given up on us.”

I met her gaze, hoping she would hear what I was about to say. “Vanessa, I want you to get this through your thick head. There is no us. I do not love you. I question at times if I ever loved you. It’s time you move the fuck on.”

She gasped and started pounding on my chest. “Why are you doing this? I’m losing my mind over here. I keep thinking you’re going to wake up one day and realize you made a mistake. Why are you making me feel like this? Can’t you see that I would do anything to get you back. Anything. Why do you think I’ve tried so hard to make you see that these other women all wrong for you? Tell me what I have to fucking do? Why can’t we be together? Why? I don’t understand? Because of her?” She started kicking and screaming. “She can’t have you. Do you understand me?” She kept on swinging, but thankfully, I had good reflexes and was able to dodge her hits. “If you turn me in. If I lose my daughter…” She trailed off with a blank stare that chilled me to the bones.

“You’ll what?” I asked cautiously. My body was frozen on the spot.

She hesitated, but I could tell by the emotions playing out on her face that something inside her had snapped. “I will kill myself and you will have no one to blame but yourself.”

I staggered backward, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. My ex-wife was farther gone than I imagined. How did I not see the signs? How could I not feel partly responsible for this?

“Don’t talk like that.” I tried to keep the panic out of my voice. “If you really feel that way, then I’m checking you into a hospital. You need help.”

“Oh, now you want to help me.” She wiped at the rivers that were flowing down her face. She was falling apart at the seams.

I grabbed her wrist, trying to calm her down. “I don’t wish you any pain, Vanessa. I also can’t allow things to continue like this.”

She tried to kick me again, but I stepped back. “I fucking hate her. If you want to help me then you will come back home, where you belong.”

Her voice was filled with agony. Everything about this sucked.

“Vanessa, here is what’s going to happen. You are going to turn yourself in. You will pay for the damages. You are going to hook yourself up with a therapist.” Her eyes pleaded with me to stop, but I couldn’t. “You will not come within ten feet of Ava or her daughter. If you don’t do those things, I will have charges brought against you, issue a restraining order, and file for full custody of Brina.”

“Oh my God.” She fell against my chest and sobbed. I could feel her pain, and it gutted me to know that she was this sick. “How can you be so cold and heartless? How can you threaten me like this? Brina is all I have. You’re really going to send me away and take her from me?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “I don’t want to do this, but you’ve left me with no choice. Get yourself some help and own up to what you did.”

“All over a fucking car!”

“Let’s not forget you’ve been stalking her. We found the tracker you put in her trunk.” If she was this mentally unstable, who knows the extremes she would go to.

Her head whipped back. “What tracker? What on earth are you talking about?”

Something about her reaction gave me pause. I searched her face for any sign of a lie. Unlike earlier, when I knew for sure she was guilty, this felt different.

My brows creased. “They found the electronic tracking device you planted in her trunk,” I said, holding my breath, waiting for that flicker of guilt to cross her face. Except it never came.

She wiped at her cheeks, shaking her head. “I can assure you that wasn’t me.”

I didn’t know what made me believe her, but I did. Could the information in the report be a mistake? No, that was stupid. Vanessa’s prints were on the brick, but Mike said they couldn’t find anything on the tracking device. So, if it wasn’t Vanessa, then who the hell could it be?

“Hello, are you listening to me?” she shouted, breaking through the static in my brain.

“I heard you.” I cleared my throat and rested my hands on her arms. “Hear me out, okay? I don’t want to see you locked up, because I don’t think jail is the right place for you. But the things you’re willing to do to get your revenge are escalating. This needs to stop.”

She’d done unforgivable things in the past to drive the people away in my life. That’s why I kept the women I dated at a distance. I should never have allowed things to get so out of control, and I won’t be stupid enough to do it again. I had too much to lose this time.

“I’m not crazy,” she pleaded with me. Did she not understand how wrong this was? No, I reminded myself. In her twisted mind, she felt justified.

“I’m going to be totally frank with you, Vanessa. You need help. You need to stop living in the past.” A long stretch of silence passed between us. “It’s not healthy. Brina needs her mother, so promise me, you’ll do this for her and for yourself.”

“I don’t want to lose my daughter.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to make sure that doesn’t happen,” I promised her. I wanted to give her the assurance she needed. Encourage her in whatever way I could to seek help. “But you need to take that first step.”

“Let me get this straight.” She glowered at me but seemed slightly calmer than a few minutes ago. “I have two options. I can either take my chances with the law and risk losing my daughter or commit myself to a crazy house. Do I have that right?”

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