Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 39414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Maddie turns to me, eyes narrowing. “Okay, listen. You’re not doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“That fake laugh thing you do when you’re scared,” she says, blunt. “Stop it.”
Heat flashes in my cheeks—anger and embarrassment. “I’m fine.”
Maddie’s eyes stay on mine. “No. You’re not. And we’re not doing the ‘Ellie’s fine’ show anymore. You want this to end? You start acting like it’s real.”
Wyatt’s gaze flicks to Maddie, then to me, like he’s silently approving her approach.
I hate that.
Ethan steps closer to Wyatt, voice lower. “If this is her ex, he’s not just using paperwork. He’s escalating.”
Wyatt’s eyes go dark. “I know.”
Maddie points at the couch. “Sit.”
I blink. “Excuse me?”
“Sit,” she repeats, like she’s talking to a dog she likes but doesn’t trust. “And give me your phone.”
My spine stiffens. “No.”
Maddie’s brow lifts. “Okay, then keep being alone in this. Great plan.”
Wyatt’s voice cuts in, calm. “Ellie.”
I glare at him. “Don’t.”
His eyes hold mine. “Give her the phone.”
The way he says it—flat, certain—does something annoying to my body. My pulse jumps. My stomach flips. Like my nervous system is wired to respond when he takes control.
I hate it. I do.
I also… don’t.
I shove my phone into Maddie’s hand and drop onto the couch with a dramatic sigh because if I don’t act annoyed, I’ll start acting scared.
Maddie scrolls with fast, efficient movements. “Okay. We’re going to do this like grown-ups who want to survive men like that.”
Ethan’s gaze shifts to me, steadier. “You have to stop protecting him with silence.”
My jaw tightens. “I’m not protecting him.”
Maddie doesn’t look up. “You are. Minimizing protects him. Embarrassment protects him. Pretending it was ‘just a bad relationship’ protects him.”
Wyatt’s gaze lands on me like a weight.
I swallow. “It wasn’t—” I stop, because the words get stuck behind my teeth.
Wyatt’s voice goes quiet. “Tell them.”
I snap my gaze up. “I don’t owe—”
“You owe yourself,” Maddie interrupts. “Now. What does he have on you?”
I let out a sharp breath. “A loan.”
Ethan’s eyes narrow slightly. “Your business.”
“My shop,” I correct. The words come out bitter. “He financed it. Then he made sure I never forgot it.”
Maddie’s mouth twists. “Of course he did.”
I force my voice steady. “He accelerated the foreclosure. Changed the locks. Restricted my accounts.”
Maddie’s head lifts finally. “Restricted your accounts?”
I nod once, jaw clenched. “It’s like… like he pushed buttons I didn’t even know existed. I went to log in and everything was frozen.”
Wyatt’s hands curl at his sides, the only sign of anger he lets himself show. “He’s isolating you.”
Ethan nods. “It’s a tactic. Cut off resources, cut off movement.”
Maddie’s eyes sharpen. “And make you run back to him.”
My throat tightens. “He texted me like he was doing me a favor.”
Wyatt’s voice goes low, ugly. “What did he say.”
I hesitate, pride screaming.
Maddie doesn’t let me stall. “Say it.”
I exhale. “He said… ‘Don’t make this ugly. I tried to handle it quietly. You’re welcome.’”
Wyatt’s jaw flexes hard. His gaze goes distant for a second like he’s imagining Graham’s throat in his hand.
Maddie’s expression doesn’t change, but her voice goes softer. “That’s control dressed as kindness.”
I swallow. “He said I signed my life away.”
Ethan’s eyes flick to Wyatt. “Paper matters,” he says quietly. “You were right.”
Wyatt doesn’t respond. He’s watching me, the way he watched me last night in the dark when I challenged him and he said he wasn’t going to ruin me like it was a promise and a threat.
Maddie sets my phone down on the coffee table and points at me. “New rule. You document everything. Texts. Emails. Voicemails. Dates. Times. Screenshots. You save it in two places. And you stop deleting things because you don’t want to look at them.”
I shift. “I don’t delete—”
Maddie’s eyes narrow. “Ellie.”
I exhale, annoyed because she’s right. I deleted things. Not because I wanted to protect him, but because seeing his words made my stomach turn. Because I wanted to pretend I could wipe him away.
Maddie continues, firm. “Second rule. You stop calling it ‘drama.’ You stop calling it ‘mess.’ It’s harassment.”
Wyatt’s gaze stays locked on my face. “He threatened you.”
I swallow. “He’s not… overt. He’s—”
“Smart,” Ethan cuts in. “He’s careful.”
Maddie leans forward, elbows on her knees. “Careful men are the worst. They make you look crazy while they ruin your life in spreadsheets.”
Heat flashes behind my eyes—anger, humiliation. “I’m not crazy.”
“I know,” Maddie says immediately. “But he wants everyone else to think you are.”
Wyatt moves behind the couch. I feel him there before I see him, like my body senses him the way it senses heat. His hand lands on the back cushion behind my shoulder, not touching me, but close enough that I feel claimed.
Maddie watches it and smirks. “Cute.”
Wyatt’s voice goes flat. “Focus.”
“I am focused,” Maddie says, unbothered. Then she looks at Ethan. “Tell him.”
Ethan nods. “There are spots around this cabin where someone could watch without leaving easy prints. Rock outcroppings. Wind cover.”