Chapter 19
Laris found Micah at a bar, drowning himself in liquor. “Micah, let’s start over together. Let’s go back home, okay?” she sat beside him and softly said, her hand resting gently on his shoulder.
Micah looked up and shoved her hand away. “Don’t touch me. I need to find Lena.”
After Lena had splashed coffee on her and mocked her mercilessly earlier that day, Laris was barely holding on. Micah’s words snapped her last thread of
composure.
She slammed photos of Lena and Caleb onto the table. “Micah, wake up!” she snapped. “Lena’s with someone else. She’s done with you! Come back to me. Can’t we be like how we were before?”
Micah snatched the photos, tearing them into pieces and tossing them in the trash. “She’s just trying to make me jealous. If I keep apologizing, she’ll forgive me. Lena loves me. She won’t leave.”
Laris glared at him, her anger boiling over. “You’re drinking yourself into the ground for her, but Lena won’t even glance your way. I’m the one who’s here, I’m the one who cares. Look at me, please!” Her voice softened, pleading, “I was wrong to leave you. I wish I hadn’t. Let’s start over, okay?”
Micah’s gaze sharpened, the alcohol’s haze lifting slightly. “Start over with you?”
Laris nodded, her heart racing with fragile hope. “You loved me most, didn’t you? Lena’s gone now. We can be together again.”
Micah’s face darkened, eyes flashing with raw, bitter anger.
Laris flinched at the sight of this, her knees wobbling as she shrank into the corner of the couch..
“It’s all because of you, Laris! You’re the reason Lena left me.” Micah snarled and slapped Laris‘ face.
A sharp sting bloomed on Laris‘ cheek. She clutched her face as tears welled up. She couldn’t believe that Micah had hit her.
Rage surged through her, hot and unstoppable. She shot to her feet, her palm snapping across his face in return.
Micah lunged, pinning her to the couch, his hands tightening around her throat. “It’s all your fault! You sent those messages to Lena and said those things to her. I neglected her because of you. You made her leave me!”
He had never understood why Lena walked away until he’d hired someone to dig into Laris‘ actions. The thought of Lena–pregnant with his child- being taunted by Laris filled him with a murderous rage. \
If it weren’t for Laris, he and Lena would still be married, their baby would be alive, and they’d be a happy family.
Laris clawed at his hands, gasping for air until he finally released her. “You don’t get to die yet,” he growled. “You need to pay for what you did to Lena and our child.”
Laris glared at the unhinged man before her and caught her breath. “You’re the one who hurt Lena the most,” she spat. “You stayed with her while messing around with me.
“Yes, I sent those messages, but they were all true. You did those things, Micah. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had anything to use against her. You’re the one who screwed up the most. You killed your child and pushed Lena into someone else’s arms.”
Micah charged again, his hands clamping around Laris‘ throat. “Shut up! It’s all you! I didn’t do anything wrong!”
Struggling to breathe, Laris barely managed to say, “You don’t love her. You ruined her.”
“You’re lying!” he roared. “How could I not love Lena?”
