Page 72 of All Mine

“M’huh,” Jonah replied, mouth full.

“Then why did he leave her?” Sloane asked.

“I don’t know, but I’d bet it had something to do with Stephen. Dude has issues, Lauren.”

“Don’t you think I know that? I’m the one who divorced him.” Jonah had no idea the amount of issues that Stephen had. And it would seem that I had underestimated him too.

Stephen hadn’t wanted the divorce, but he also hadn’t wanted me to run a bakery. We couldn’t agree on anything, and didn’t love each other. So wasn’t it best to split up and find someone better suited for each of us?

“Did he hit you before?” Jonah asked.

“Once at the end of our marriage when he realized he couldn’t stop me from leaving him.” I rotated the glass between my palms.

“Damn it, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I just wanted it over,” I said, pushing a chip through the dip but not eating. “And right when I consider moving on, here he is, again. I only hope that the town votes no on the sale. But, what if that doesn’t get rid of him?”

“We’ll figure out something to keep you away from him,” Jonah said, grabbing another chip. “You are pressing charges against him, right?”

“I guess. I told Eddie to have them do whatever they could when he handed Stephen over to the police.”

“They also took Camden to jail, too,” Jonah said.

“What?” I asked. “Why?”

“For hitting Stephen. You didn’t think he’d let that go, did you?”

“He was only protecting me.”

“That’s so sweet,” Eden said.

“How long will he be in jail?” Sloane asked.

“Who knows? Adrian went to see if he could bail him out or if he needed a lawyer.”

“Adrian did what?” I asked, the pounding in my skull intensified.

“Now, don’t get mad at him,” Jonah said.

“I’m sure Camden has a talented lawyer. And as far as Adrian, everything hurts too much to waste on mad.” I rubbed my temples. “The only thing I want is for all this to be over with.” I still wanted to win on some level, but I would lose something no matter what, either my bakery or Camden or both. But Camden had never been mine to lose. The small amount of spinach dip turned to stone in the pit of my stomach.

“Oh my god, your face,” Lacy called across the room. She made a beeline to our table. “Are you okay? Everyone’s talking about how that asshole hit you.”

“Good news travels fast,” I quipped. “Could you not scream about my hideous face across the entire bar?” I asked when my sister made it to our table and crouched beside me. She wore a Lou’s T-shirt, jean shorts, and dark hair in a French braid, ready for her shift as a server.

“Are you okay?” Lacy repeated.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“It doesn’t look that bad,” Sloane said.

“I’m sure it’ll have even more purples and greens in it tomorrow.”

“Why didn’t you call us?” Lacy asked.

“I didn’t want to worry anyone. Are mom and dad back yet?”

“No, not yet. But, I’m guessing they’ll head straight back if someone calls and tells them what happened.”

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