“We’re not really engaged. Turns out, it was only a ploy to make you jealous.”
I pivoted, assessing the woman. My movement had her stepping forward and gripping my hand. Her face had changed, and I saw the same fear I’d seen so many times in my own eyes. Handing the leash to Monroe, I motioned for him to give me a minute. Once he was clear of the house, she opened up like a floodgate.
“I thought he actually cared about me, that he was the answer to all my problems. Paisley’s dad left me a few years ago, taking all of our money with him. I was left with the house, but I’m barely able to keep it up. He ruined my credit, and it’s near impossible for me to get a job and take care of my daughter. I met Brian at a function, and I thought, here’s a good man, one who will be the father Paisley needs. It was like a fairytale at first, and I thought my life was finally going to change. But even before we ran into you at the fair, I’d started to grow suspicious. He talked about you non-stop, complaining and blaming you for all of his problems. I…” She stopped, wiping her eyes, her lip trembling as she attempted to gather herself.
“I ignored it because things were better. I wasn’t having to worry about paying my bills or where the next meal would come from. But then…” she looked at me, and a piece of me I’d buried recognized something in her.
“He changed?” Hesitantly, she confirmed with a minute dip of her head, and I found myself reaching back to grab her hands in support this time.
“It was small things at first. A comment here or there that would make me stop and wonder if he had really just said it. Then they became more frequent, and I wondered where the man I met was. When he… when he smacked me one night for not having dinner ready when he got home, that was when I knew he wasn’t the answer, but the nightmare.”
“Can’t you break up or tell him to go, especially if it’s not real?”
“I tried. But that’s when he proposed, or so I thought. When I heard him talking about it, I’d been hurt, but mostly, I thought it was my way out. So I didn’t confront him. I gave him back the ring and said I didn’t feel I was ready. It was an excuse, but I didn’t want to set him off. He apologized and lavished gifts and flowers on me, and things got better, but inside I feared for the day he’d drop the act. The day before we ran into you, it had been awful, and I think that was why I was so hateful toward you. If I couldn’t leave him, then I had to blame someone else.”
I nodded, her reasoning making sense. She sucked in a breath, steadying herself, and I wondered what the next part was that had her so shaken up.
“After the incident at your parents' house and the comments your mother made, I told him I was done. I didn’t want to be engaged anymore, and no amount of apologies would change it. He went crazy. He destroyed furniture and called me a bunch of names. Telling me I was a cheap alternative to the real thing and I would never measure up, so he’d used me for the only thing I was good for and that he would never actually marry me, that it had all been pretending to make you jealous.”
Sucking in a breath, I held her arms, attempting to give her strength. Tears rolled down her face, and I wiped one away. Christine’s lip wobbled, but she didn’t stop, and I respected her for that. She was stronger than she realized.
“I knew it hadn’t been real, but hearing him say those words… He tried to rape me that night, but I managed to escape and lock myself in the bathroom. By morning, he’d sobered up and had cleaned all the broken pieces. He acted like none of it had happened. I’m just glad Paisley wasn’t here for any of it. I told him to get out at that point, and he laughed in my face. He said… he said,” she gulped, holding my eyes. “He said he had a plan for me and until he got what he really wanted, I was to shut up and be the good slut I was, and he’d continue to pay my bills. After that night, I was too scared to try to leave again. So I did what he said. A month ago, he quit coming over, and I felt relieved. I hoped it meant he was done with me. Then he showed up a few weeks ago with Barkley and told me to keep her hidden. She was such a sweet dog. I didn’t mind. I didn’t know she was yours, though, I swear.”
Believing her, I accepted her reasoning and pulled her into a hug. Brian could be scary when he didn’t get his way, using aggression to control others. He hadn’t had to use it on me very often, but I’d seen it emerge at times. There was a broken lamp here, a shattered picture frame there, and one time when he’d grabbed me by the wrist. Looking at it now, it seemed like it had only been a ticking time bomb before he’d escalated to this level with me. In a way, I was suddenly grateful he’d asked for a divorce.
It felt shitty of me to think that when the woman he’d escalated with was shaking in my arms.
“I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this. Do you need help?”
She looked at me oddly, confused as to why I would be offering help. “Why would you help me? I’ve been nothing but hateful.”
“You have, but it doesn’t mean I don’t see a woman who needs assistance. A woman who has found herself in a difficult situation where she feels there’s no way out. I don’t think we’re going to become best friends or anything, but I’m not going to deny you help, just because you called me a bitch.”
“You really are kind. I’m glad Monroe is with someone like you. My sister, she’s not the nicest, and I know what she’s been planning. I even wondered if she was sleeping with Brian, the way they both acted.”
“Possibly. Though she was taken to jail this morning for contempt, so I don’t know how much trouble she’ll be for you at the moment.”
“Wait, what?” I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.
“Yeah, there was a court hearing for custody, and Monroe won. There were a bunch of other charges filed against your sister. When she didn’t comply, she was taken away for contempt.”
“Shit. Okay. This might be the perfect time for me to escape. But there’s something you should know.”
Nodding, I waited for her to tell me. She looked worried again, biting her lip, and I squeezed her hand to reassure her.
“I overheard another conversation between Brian and your mother. I’m not sure what it all means, but one of them is in trouble financially. I don’t know all the details, but it sounded like you were their way out of whatever they were involved in. Something to do with a trust that was coming to term. But to be granted access, they had to have you. They need you for something, Loren, and I don’t think they’ll stop until they get it. Barkley was just one way they wanted to control you. They have something else you want as well.”
Dread pooled in my stomach, and I asked the question I didn’t really know if I wanted the answer to. “Do you know what?”
She looked me over but eventually shook her head. “No, but I can find out. If you can help me get a plan together to leave, then I’ll get you the info.”
“Done. Though, Christine. I would help you without you having to do something for me.”
She smiled softly, tears coming to her eyes again. “I know. But I need to start standing on my own feet, and that means not owing people things. This way, I feel like maybe I’m helping you too, and that’s a nice feeling.” I nodded, understanding what she meant.
“You know, I never thought you would be the one to help me see a way out or that I could even leave, but you have. I kind of became a stalker in regards to you, eating up any morsel of information I could find.”
“Um, okay.” I shifted uneasily, wondering if Single White Female was about to be uncovered here.