When My Ex's Worst Enemy Became My Sanctuary novel Chapter 204

“You’ve had it pretty easy, haven’t you? You gave birth to a daughter, then didn’t even have to raise her. Your husband died, and instead of stepping up, you just remarried and left your own child with her grandparents like it was nothing.”

“You never cared how old your in-laws were, or how your little girl felt about being left behind, or even that your stepdaughter was bullying your own daughter.”

“I’ve never met a mother so completely blind and deaf to everything around her. And now you want to keep living your so-called happy life, even if it means stepping all over your daughter. Doesn’t your conscience ever hurt?”

Dorothea’s words hit harder than any slap. Every sentence landed right where Elise’s heart was most fragile.

“Dorothea, how can you talk to your mother like this?”

“I haven’t had a mother since Dad died,” Dorothea said, her voice icy. “Just pretend I’m dead, alright? Please don’t come looking for me again. If you try to threaten me one more time, I’ll call the police. Who knows, maybe Layton will come bail you out.”

Elise just stood there, stunned, her mind spinning with everything Dorothea had thrown at her.

She could feel the cold, sharp edge of Dorothea’s hatred. She’s really started to hate me, Elise thought.

A weird urge to cry and laugh at the same time welled up inside her. Only now did she realize how far she’d pushed Dorothea away.

***

Dorothea only felt like she could breathe after stepping out of the hotel. Even saying those harsh things had left her completely drained.

From now on, the only way to really move on was to keep her distance. Only distance could help her forget all the old hurts.

She didn’t want to go to the office, and she definitely didn’t want to go home. Instead, she called Carmen.

“What?” Carmen nearly shouted. “Latham told you straight out that he doesn’t like men?”

If that was the case, she’d rather never have it at all. Like a snail retreating into its shell, she didn’t want to risk getting hurt again.

“Carmen, I just don’t have it in me to start over with someone new.”

Carmen leaned in, changing tack. “Let me ask you this. Do you like Latham, even just a little bit?”

They sat together in a booth while on stage, a singer strummed a guitar and sang softly.

Not far away, someone sat listening, his attention fixed on their conversation. The silver lighter he’d been fiddling with stilled in his hand, as if he was waiting for an answer too.

Dorothea shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe there’s a little bit of something, but it’s just a feeling. It’s not nearly enough for something real.”

The man pocketed the lighter and walked away without looking back.