“You’re going to ruin everything over a little holiday drama.”
I let out a small laugh.
“Linda, this isn’t about Christmas presents. It never was. This is about respect, something you’ve never given me.”
She scoffed.
“Respect? You’re leaving your husband and his family out in the cold over money. That’s not respect. That’s selfishness.”
I shook my head, my patience running dangerously low.
“No. What selfish is expecting me to bankroll your life while you mock me behind my back. What selfish is laughing while I sit there humiliated on Christmas morning.”
I leaned slightly out of the window, my voice sharp as ice.
“So tell me, Linda, where was your respect?”
For the first time, she hesitated.
I could see the wheels turning in her head, scrambling for another angle, another way to manipulate me. But I was done playing her games.
I put my hand on the gearshift.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to go home.”
Her face hardened.
“This isn’t over.”
I smiled.
“Oh, I’m counting on that.”
With that, I rolled up my window and revved my engine just enough to make my point.
She finally stepped aside, her lips pressed into a thin line.
I I didn’t look back as I pulled out of the driveway. But even as I drove away, I knew Linda wasn’t going to take this law slightly.
No, she was going to fight.
And I was ready for her.
I arrived home just before midnight, the house feeling eerily quiet. The holiday lights I’d left up looked strange now, almost mocking.
It had been the kind of Christmas where you couldn’t wait to be over, but here I was, alone for the first time in years.
The thought of being alone didn’t feel so bad.
I tossed my coat on the chair and kicked off my boots, pouring myself a drink. I sank into the couch, finally allowing myself to feel something other than the frustration that had been building up for months.