Laura listened in silence. Each message sounded like the last: hollow. She remembered every fight—the way he snapped when dinner wasn’t ready, how he made her feel guilty for asking for affection. The car incident wasn’t an accident; it was the final crack in a relationship built on control.

Later that day, Mark showed up at Emma’s door. His face was pale, his hands shaking. “Please, Laura,” he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just—” She interrupted him, her voice calm but cold. “You kicked your pregnant wife out of your car because you didn’t want to ‘ruin your luck.’ Do you hear yourself?”

He looked away, unable to meet her gaze. Emma stood nearby, arms crossed like a silent guardian. Mark tried to step closer, but Laura stopped him. “You care more about appearances than people,” she continued. “You didn’t even see me as a person that night—just an inconvenience.”