Page 99 of Unexpected

Apparently, it wasn’t what Michael expected either because his shoulders tensed as he leaned back.

“Hazel, please don’t—”

“Don’t what? Don’t call you out on the shit you did?” She heaved a heavy breath, glanced in my direction and then, with newfound confidence, stared back at Michael. “It wasn’t just physical abuse, you know. When you hit me or pushed me, it hurt so bad, but you were also emotionally abusive and manipulative. Not to mention you cheated on me. This last year hasn’t just been rough, and it wasn’t just the last year. It all started a long time ago, and yeah, maybe you didn’t start hitting me until a year ago. But everything else started long before that.”

She was out of breath, and her cup was shaking between her palms.

Michael shook his head and leaned forward. He was speaking softer, and I strained to hear what he said.

“I take responsibility for my part in the end of our relationship. I should have done better… Let’s not throw out words like abuse though, because that really changes the tone and escalates the situation… did not manipulate you at all… take accountability for your own part in this.”

He had leaned forward and reflexively, so had I. The expression passing over Hazel’s face morphed from shock to confusion to anger. I wanted to get her out of there. He was no longer apologetic, and it wasn’t going to end well.

“... you were also fucking our neighbor…” he said, and Hazel actually laughed.

“Are you serious right now? After everything you’ve done, including cheating on me with several women, you think if I had slept with Luke—which I haven’t—that would make what you did okay?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” His voice was louder, and the tension was clear in his tone.

“Then what are you saying? Because bringing that up isn’t helping anything. That is a weak argument—any argument that includes something I apparently did wrong is a weak argument because it isn’t true. The only thing I did wrong was stick around for as long as I did.”

I wanted to give her a standing ovation, but Michael had other ideas. He reached forward and snatched her hand, pulling her toward him as much as the table would allow before she even had a chance to react.

On instinct, I stood from my chair, ready to pry his hand off her. But Hazel quickly widened her eyes and shook her head in an almost imperceptible motion, silently telling me not to. My jaw clenched and the need to get his hands off her hummed through me like electricity.

I didn’t sit back down, though. We were done with this conversation as soon as Hazel looked at me again.

“Listen to me, Hazel. I was supposed to be your husband, and you were supposed to be my wife. You were supposed to listen to me, but you didn’t know what the fuck was good for you. It’s not my fault that I had to resort to lesser methods to get shit through your head. It’s also not my fault that I couldn’t get what I needed from you sexually, so I had to find it elsewhere. Maybe we are better off apart if you can’t see what I was trying to do for us.”

Hazel stared at him for a long moment after he’d finished speaking, and I tried to silently will her to look at me. But she just stared at him.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

Michael scoffed and pushed Hazel’s hand away before he stood and rounded the table. He leaned over her in a dominant stance and spat the words close to her face. “So, this is how you’re going to end it, huh? How many fucking years did we put into this dead-end relationship, and you’re just going to walk away like that? If you know what’s good for you, you’ll tell your mom and your stupid fucking sister that we made amends and split amicably. Don’t go feeding them some bullshit lies about what an asshole I am. Do at least that for me.”

And with that, he hustled out the door, and hopefully, out of her fucking life.

Once he was out of sight, I crossed the few feet to Hazel. She was sitting stock-still in her wooden chair with her hands still cupping the coffee she hadn’t even taken a sip from. Hesitantly, I took Michael’s seat across from her and even sitting in a chair his ass had been in made me uncomfortable.

“You heard all of that?” she asked, finally lifting her head from the spot she was staring at on the table to look at me. Her hazel eyes were drowning in sadness, but there weren’t any tears.

“I heard enough.” I wanted to touch her. My fingers longed to pry her hands from the coffee cup and wrap them in my own, but I knew it could be a bad idea.

“Then I don’t want to talk about it right now, okay?”

I nodded. “Let’s go home.”

Without another word, she grabbed her purse from where it hung on the back of the chair and walked toward the door. Like it was poison, she tossed the full coffee in the trash as soon as she could.

I walked her to her car and paused with my hand on the door handle. “Are you okay to drive? We could leave your car here and get it tomorrow.”

“No, I’ll be okay. You’re coming over, right?”

I smiled. “Of course, I wouldn’t—”

The words were whipped from me. Something flashed in front of me and pain radiated from my cheek. I stumbled backward with a grunt and just barely got my footing before an enraged Michael leaped toward me.

“I fucking knew it, you motherfucker!” he yelled as he tried to hit me again. But I knew it was coming this time and dipped out of the way. He wasn’t fighting smart, and his fists were propelled by his anger. I knew he would be easy enough to subdue.

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