Page 25 of The Vow Thief
“You know,” I went on, almost conversational,“Mr. Holloway mentioned he needs a new assistant. I’ve thought about it. Maybe I’ll sit at his desk every day, right where you used to sit. Remind everyone who won. Sneak in a fuck from my husband on his desk so often that you are completely erased."
Lily’s mouth opened, but I lifted a hand and stopped her.“Oh, sweetie, I didn’t come here to hear your voice. I came here to tell you I’m onto your little delusional act of star-crossed lovers with my husband.”
I leaned back, crossing one leg over the other.“Here’s the secret. I haven’t fought for him once. Not once. The man is out here simping for me every single day while you sit alone in your bedroom, rocking back and forth like some basket case.”
My smile widened just enough to cut.“Listen, I’ve always been of the mindset that if you can take him, you can have him. But he doesn’t want you. Not after he had you. That must sting, doesn’t it? To be so bad at being the other woman that you drove him straight back to his wife.”
I let a mocking laugh slip, soft and deliberate.“As they say in Charleston, bless your heart.”
Lily stiffened, eyes narrowing, but my voice only grew steadier.“And what’s with the delusional act, Lily? I don’t get it. When I first met you, I thought maybe you’d grow out of it, the need to play men like they’re bandages for whatever cracked story you came from. Daddy issues?
I lock my eyes on Lily’s.“Either way, it’s pathetic. You’re not mending anything. You’re just tearing your own life to pieces.”
Lily muttered something about Matt, but I cut her off with a chuckle that turned sharp.“Are you a whiny girl or a woman, Lily? Running around like something out of Fatal Attraction, spinning tales of brainwashing and conspiracy? Get real. What’s next, a boiling bunny in my kitchen? Oh my god, are you a bunny boiler?"
The words landed like a left hook. Lily flinched, her composure cracking, but I leaned in one last time, my voice silk over steel.
“It needs to stop. You come for my kids again, and the city will be finding pieces of you for years to come.”
Lily's fury began to light up her eyes. I could tell her hands ached to grab me by the hair and rip it out. I loved watching her squirm this way.
I rose smoothly, straightened my sweater, and offered one final cold smile.“Face it, Lily. You’re not obsessed with Matt. You’re obsessed with me.”
Lily’s lip quivered, her face crumpling for half a heartbeat before she switched it into a cruel smile. A laugh scrapes out of her throat.“You really think you did something there, don’t you, Saint Sarah?”
I tilted my head then feigned surprise.“Oh wow, I thought you were going to cry for a second there. That was good, Lily, until you smiled. Too much teeth. That’s also what Matt said about your blow jobs.”
I didn't raise my voice one time. But I felt it, my words alone gutted the room.
Then I simply turned and walked away, my mocking laugh lingering in the stale air of the visiting room, sharper than any lock on the cell.
Back in the car, I flipped down the visor. The mirror caught my face in the dim light, hair still glossy, mouth curved just enough to suggest satisfaction. I studied myself for a beat, then snapped the visor shut. That was all the confirmation I needed.
The engine rumbled alive, andSelf Careby Mac Miller poured through the speakers, steady and unhurried. The beat filled the SUV, wrapping my thoughts in something resilient. I let it ride, volume high enough to claim the space as my own.
Street after street passed beneath my tires. Same routes, same cracks in the sidewalks, but something felt different. Lighter. Like the air itself was shifting in my favor. I met the monster and discovered it was not half as powerful as I believed.
At a stoplight, a laugh slipped out, sharp, almost surprising me. It hung in the air for a moment before dissolving, leaving behind a silence that felt earned.
By the time I turned onto my street, a new song was playing.Ain't it Funby Paramore. The houses line up like quiet witnesses, each one familiar, each one a reminder of the life I built long before Lily Thompson ever appeared. I slowed as I pulled into the driveway, letting the engine idle a moment longer than necessary to listen to the song.
My fingers tapped once against the wheel, then stilled. The confidence was still there, humming under my skin, but beneath it is something harder to name. Something that lived in the uneasy space between. I had cut Lily down, yes. I drew blood with words alone. But women like Lily don't stay quiet.
I switched off the ignition, and silence rushed in to fill the car. For a moment, I stayed with it and closed my eyes, the last notes of the song echoing in my head. In that pause, Matt’s face surfaced, how he looked that morning before he left, the lines in his expression, the way his eyes lingered on me like he was holding something back.
And still, part of me wanted to know what he hadn’t said.
I pushed the thought aside, grabbed my bag, and stepped out of the car. The air smelled faintly of cut grass and gasoline, the ordinary perfume of suburbia. Ordinary is what I wanted, what I have been fighting to protect. Dinner at the table. The kids’voices bouncing down the hallway. A life Lily would never touch.
I locked the SUV with a sharp click, squared my shoulders, and walked toward the front door. Victory was mine today.
Chapter 13 - Lily On Guard
Lily’s POV
I hated this. Fucking jail. I hated Matt for not rescuing me. I only had my lawyer to call, and even she couldn’t stand to be in the same room with me. I refused to call my asshole father.
Most of all, I hated myself for getting so wrapped up in Matt Taylor. In truth, I loved him, and I knew he had felt something for me. The only problems we ever had while we were together were tied to Sarah. She lied when she told me she never fought for him. That scheming bitch.
