She looked down at her wrist, where the faint marks of his grip were still visible.

“Not while I’d spend the rest of my life wondering when you’ll choose them again,” she said.

“And not while I remember you grabbing me to defend a lie.” He lowered his head and walked out.

Chapter 17 — Protecting Herself

Monday morning, Odalind called the bank and cut off Ansel’s access to her funds, changed all her security settings, and made an appointment with a family-law attorney.

The attorney was blunt with her.