Goodstorie

The Poisoned Wine

I had never expected my engagement party to be anything other than perfect. The vineyard in Charlottesville, Virginia, was the ideal backdrop, lush, serene, and almost magical. Yet, as I stood there, surrounded by the chatter of well-dressed guests and the clinking of glasses, a strange unease settled deep within me. Charlotte, my mother, stood at the center of it all, as she always did, orchestrating every detail with an iron grip. Her smile, so practiced, never seemed to reach her eyes. As she moved about, her gaze would often find mine. And in those fleeting moments, I saw something far darker than the celebration around us.

My fiancé, Ryan, stood beside me, a calm presence in the chaos. But even his reassuring smile couldn’t quiet the growing tension inside me. It felt as though I was suffocating, trapped in a web woven by my own mother. Yet, no one could see it but me.

And then there it was. Charlotte appeared at my side, holding a glass of wine, her fingers lingering a moment too long around the stem. She handed it to me with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “To your future,” she said, her voice smooth but cold. I hesitated for a moment, staring at the drink. The wine was dark, almost too rich, the edges of the glass catching the light in an unsettling way. “Go ahead,” she urged. “It’s from the special selection.”

I didn’t know why I felt such a strange shiver down my spine, but I drank, lifting the glass to my lips. Almost instantly, an odd medicinal taste hit the back of my throat, and the smell, something faint but acrid, filled the air around me. My pulse quickened. Something was wrong. But before I could act, before I could ask Ryan or anyone else for help, I saw Deia, my sister, walking toward me with a bright, innocent smile. She was too quick, too eager, and before I even knew it, she took the glass from my hand, swapped it with hers, and took a sip. She smiled at me. “Thanks,” she said, unaware of the strange shift in the air.

My heart sank. I watched her eyes widen in confusion before her body swayed slightly. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she stumbled, barely steadying herself against a nearby chair. At first, the room seemed to ignore it. The chatter continued, but my stomach churned, my mind racing. This wasn’t normal, and that strange taste. The fear hit me suddenly, a deep gnawing suspicion crawling up my spine.

Ryan’s Complicity

I watched as Ryan gently placed a hand on my shoulder, a soft look of concern in his eyes. “You’re okay,” he said, his voice laced with false comfort. “It’s just the excitement of the night.” But something about his words, his tone, didn’t sit right with me. I could feel it in my gut. This wasn’t just stress. This wasn’t just my imagination. “What’s happening to Deia?” I asked, my voice shaking. “She’s just a little tipsy,” Ryan replied, his hand still on my shoulder. “Everyone’s drinking, Maddie. Maybe you should just relax and enjoy the party.” His words felt empty, like a rehearsed line. The smile on his face seemed almost too perfect, too practiced. I couldn’t ignore the deep sense of betrayal flooding my chest. Why wasn’t he worried? Why wasn’t he asking what had really happened? “Did you see that?” I whispered, but Ryan’s eyes darted away. “I did,” he said, brushing it off. “But it’s nothing. It’s not what you think.” My mind spun. I felt dizzy, detached from the reality around me. My own sister had just been poisoned, and no one seemed to care. No one was taking me seriously. But I was sure, I was certain. The night stretched on, but my focus stayed on one thought: What had my mother done?

As the night wore on, I distanced myself from the crowd, trying to process the enormity of what was happening. The image of Deia stumbling came back to me, and it twisted inside me like a blade. Something was horribly wrong. Suddenly, memories came rushing back, so many of them all at once. How my mother had manipulated every relationship I’d ever had. How she had controlled my choices from the friends I kept to the men I loved. She had always been there, pulling the strings, and I had always let her. That’s when the realization hit me. She had been doing this for years. The thought of it crushed me, left me breathless with betrayal. How had I not seen it sooner? How had I allowed her to control my life for so long? And then the idea formed, so cold and clear: I had to know the truth. I had to find out what Charlotte was hiding. I walked to the event coordinator, my steps slow but sure. I couldn’t ignore this feeling anymore. I had to act. I had to get to the bottom of this. I needed the truth, no matter how much it hurt. I could already feel the weight of the decision. But there was no turning back. Not now.

Proof in the Footage

Later, when I sat in front of the security footage, my fingers hovered over the play button. A chill ran down my spine. What if I was wrong? What if this was all in my head? But then I pressed play, and there it was, my mother, Charlotte, adding something to my glass when no one was looking. I felt my breath catch in my throat. The evidence was undeniable. It was irrefutable. She had tried to poison me. I hardly slept the entire night, my mind racing with thoughts of the party, the wine, the strange feeling that something was terribly wrong. I replayed everything in my head over and over, but the pieces didn’t fit. I knew my mother. I knew how she could twist the truth, how she controlled every situation around her. But this, this was different. This was poison.

The next morning, I woke up with a heavy heart and a mind full of questions. The sun shone through my bedroom window, but it did little to brighten my mood. I could still taste the strange bitterness in my mouth from the wine, the thought of my sister, Deia, stumbling after she drank what was meant for me, the eerie calmness of my mother as she downplayed the whole thing. I couldn’t shake the image of her hands, steady and practiced as she passed me that glass. Was this the same woman who had been manipulating my life for as long as I could remember? Was she truly capable of something so cruel?

I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection. I didn’t recognize the woman looking back at me. Was I really that naive? Had I been blind to her manipulation all these years? Ryan was still asleep when I left the house. His absence only deepened the feeling of isolation that had taken root in me. His silence after everything, his dismissal of my suspicions, had cut deeper than I wanted to admit. I didn’t know if I could trust him anymore.

Ryan’s Confession

When I finally found Ryan, it was just before lunch. He was sitting on the couch in the living room, his head buried in his phone as usual. But as soon as I walked in, he looked up. The smile he gave me didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hey, Maddie, you okay?” he asked, his voice low, tinged with concern. I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I took a seat opposite him, my heart pounding in my chest. I had to know the truth. I needed to hear him admit it. “Did my mom offer you money?” I asked, my voice shaking.

Ryan’s eyes widened, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He opened his mouth but closed it quickly. I could see the hesitation on his face, the guilt. “I… I wasn’t sure what to do, Maddie,” he started. “Your mom offered me a lot of money. She wanted me to distance myself from you. I almost took it, but I didn’t. I hesitated.”

The words hit me like a slap to the face. “You almost took it?” I repeated, the hurt and disbelief clawing at my chest. “You almost left me for money.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking anywhere but at me. “It wasn’t like that. I was in a bad place. I didn’t know what to think. I just wanted to get everything under control.” “Control?” I muttered bitterly. “That’s what she always wants, isn’t it? Control. She’s been controlling me, Ryan. For as long as I can remember.”

I stood up, my anger rising with every word. “And you? You let her. You stood by and watched her tear us apart. You let her manipulate you. I trusted you. You were supposed to be on my side.” Ryan’s face fell. “Maddie, I know.” I cut him off. “Don’t you dare try to explain this away. I don’t know who you are anymore. I don’t know who I am anymore.” I grabbed my coat from the hook by the door, my mind spinning with the sudden weight of everything. “I can’t do this, Ryan. I can’t be with someone who’s so easily swayed. I need space. I need to think,” I said, my voice cracking. Ryan didn’t stop me. He didn’t argue. He just sat there, defeated, watching as I walked out. Outside, the cold air hit my face like a slap, and for the first time in a long time, I allowed myself to cry. The betrayal was sharp and fresh, but there was also a sense of clarity that followed. I had always believed in Ryan, in us. But now, I wasn’t sure if I could ever trust him again.

The Journal’s Secrets

As I walked, my thoughts turned back to my mother. Her control over me had been so subtle, so insidious. I could barely remember a time when she didn’t have her fingers in every part of my life. She had forced me to break up with my college boyfriend. She’d made me question my own worth, telling me I wasn’t enough, that I needed to rely on her, and now she was trying to kill me. I shook my head in disbelief. How had I let it go on for so long? The world felt upside down. But I knew one thing for sure: I wasn’t going to let her control me anymore.

I made my way to the desk, my fingers trembling as I searched through old boxes in the attic. There, hidden in the back of a drawer, was my mother’s journal. The leather cover was worn, the pages yellowed with age. But as I flipped it open, I found something I had been searching for. Proof. Charlotte’s words written with cold precision. She had always planned to control me. The entries were full of manipulation, of twisting situations to make me believe I was weak, that I needed her. She even went so far as to encourage me to break up with friends, relationships, to isolate me, all in the name of keeping me close. I couldn’t breathe as I read. The journal confirmed everything I had ever suspected. She had poisoned me, and she had done it before. I had the evidence. I had everything I needed. I was done being her puppet.

I sat at the kitchen table, the journal opened before me, my hands trembling as I read through the words that had been written in my mother’s hand. The ink was still fresh in my mind, though the paper itself was old, brittle. With each page I turned, I could feel the weight of the past bearing down on me. Each word, a thread unraveling the fabric of everything I thought I knew. My mother had always been controlling, but this, this was different. She had orchestrated every part of my life from the shadows, pulling the strings of my relationships like some cruel puppeteer. I had always thought my childhood was normal, that the way she dictated every aspect of my life was just what mothers did. But the journal told a different story.

Charlotte, my mother, had manipulated me into distancing myself from people who cared about me. She had sown doubt in my heart about friends, about love, about everything. I thought I had chosen my path on my own. But now it was clear. She had been guiding my every decision, twisting me, controlling me without me even realizing it. My breath caught in my throat as I read about Ryan. The entries described how she’d made sure that I would rely on him, that I would fall in love with him so that he could be the one to pull me further from my family, to isolate me. She knew exactly what to say, when to push, when to step back. She had molded my relationships the way an artist molds clay. But this, this was something I hadn’t anticipated. The journal wasn’t just filled with memories. It was filled with calculated moves. My mother’s need to control had been far deeper than I ever imagined. It wasn’t just about me. It was about making sure I could never leave. Making sure I would always come back to her.

I felt like the ground beneath me had disappeared and I was falling, no longer able to catch my breath. My own mother had spent my whole life turning me into something she could control, shaping me into someone I didn’t even recognize anymore. I slammed the journal shut, my heart racing. But the pain, the overwhelming hurt, didn’t stop. I had always trusted her, always believed in her love for me. And now I was left with the shattered pieces of a life that wasn’t even mine. I needed to think. I needed to clear my head, to breathe. I grabbed my jacket and stepped outside into the cool air. My mind raced faster than my feet could carry me, but every thought led back to the same place. My mother’s control, Ryan’s betrayal, the realization that I had been living in a world built on lies. The further I walked, the more I felt the weight of everything pressing on me. My mother had manipulated not just my relationship with Ryan, but with everyone I had ever trusted. I had no idea who I could turn to anymore. I needed answers. I needed to confront her, to face her with everything I knew. But the anger inside me threatened to swallow me whole. My heart ached with the betrayal of it all. How could she do this to me? How could she destroy everything I had ever cared about? But in the midst of the anger, something else stirred inside me. A new strength, a resolve. I wasn’t going to let her control me anymore. I couldn’t.

The Final Piece of Evidence

When I returned home, I went straight to the desk where I had found the journal. It wasn’t enough. I needed more. I needed everything. I went through the drawers, searching for anything that would give me more insight into my mother’s plans, more proof of her manipulations. And then I found it, the missing piece: a letter she had written to a lawyer discussing the terms of a trust that would control everything I had. My inheritance, my future, all tied up in a contract that ensured I could never escape her grasp. I held the letter in my hand, the weight of the words sinking in. This was it, the final piece of evidence. Charlotte had never wanted me to live my life. She wanted to control it, to keep me trapped in her world forever. My mind raced with thoughts of how to confront her. I wasn’t going to let her win. Not this time. But even as the anger burned inside me, a part of me was still afraid. Afraid of what she might do when she found out I knew, afraid of what it would mean to finally face her. I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to act. I wasn’t going to let her control me any longer. But as I made plans to gather all the evidence I could, I knew that this confrontation would change everything. It would be a fight for my future, my independence. I couldn’t afford to lose.

Unraveling Professional Betrayal

The morning after everything came crashing down, I was back at my desk. But my mind was far from focused on work. It felt like I was drowning in a sea of emotions: betrayal, anger, disbelief. The journal I had found kept replaying in my mind, each revelation more devastating than the last. How could my own mother do this to me? How could Ryan, someone I thought I could trust, let it happen? I tried to push the thoughts away, but they crept in relentlessly. I could feel the weight of everything pressing down on me. At work, the usual hustle of emails and phone calls barely registered. My colleagues were acting distant, their conversations more muted than usual. And there in the corner of my office stood one of my most trusted clients, who I noticed had been avoiding eye contact with me. It wasn’t subtle. The icy tension in the room was impossible to ignore. Was it just my mind playing tricks on me, or was there something more to it? I couldn’t help but feel like my world was slowly slipping through my fingers, and every moment I spent at work felt like I was walking through a minefield of lies.

By mid-afternoon, I knew something was wrong. One of my closest business partners, Sarah, had been unusually quiet during our meeting earlier. Her usual warmth had been replaced by cold politeness. As we wrapped up the discussion, she quickly excused herself, an excuse about needing to prepare for another meeting. But the look in her eyes—avoidance, guilt—was impossible to miss. That’s when it hit me. The subtle whispers, the sudden cold shoulders. Charlotte had worked behind the scenes, hadn’t she? She had somehow orchestrated all of this. My mind raced, the journal’s revelations flashing before me like a movie on fast-forward. I could feel the room close in around me as the pieces clicked into place. The sabotage wasn’t just emotional. It was professional, too.

I walked out of the office, my mind buzzing with questions. My heart was a jumble of frustration and fury. Had she been playing this game for years, manipulating every part of my life? How many people had she paid off to control my career, my relationships, my future? I didn’t know how to process it all. I had trusted my mother, my family, and now it was clear that trust had been shattered. I felt as though I was suffocating under the weight of it all, unable to escape. By the time I got home, I couldn’t sit still. My fingers trembled as I rifled through the drawer of my desk, pulling out old contracts, emails, and files that might shed light on what was happening. It didn’t take long for the truth to come rushing forward. I uncovered documents, emails, contracts, forged signatures, all designed to ruin my reputation and destroy my career.

Confronting Sarah

I picked up the phone and dialed Sarah’s number. My hand was shaking as I pressed the phone to my ear, my heart pounding in my chest. When she answered, I didn’t waste time. “We need to talk,” I said, my voice cold. The conversation that followed was tense. Sarah admitted to taking money from my mother, but her justifications made my blood boil. She said she didn’t want to get involved, that she was just following orders. She sounded regretful, but the damage had already been done. “You don’t get it, do you?” I said, my voice shaking with emotion. “You’ve destroyed everything I’ve worked for, everything I’ve trusted.” I hung up the phone, the conversation leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. She was just one of many pieces in this twisted puzzle. And now I had the proof I needed to take action. As I sat there processing everything, something inside me shifted. I was angry, yes, but I was also more determined than ever. I couldn’t let her win. I couldn’t let my mother control me any longer. I stood up and paced the room. I knew what I had to do next. It was time to gather everything, every piece of evidence, every document, and prepare for the ultimate confrontation. I wasn’t going to sit back and let her destroy me. I was going to expose her for the manipulative person she truly was. The next few days were a blur of meetings, gathering evidence, and preparing for what would be the most difficult confrontation of my life. But no matter what, I knew this was the only way forward. I had to stand up for myself, for my future. And then one evening, I stood in front of the mirror, staring at the woman who had been controlled for so long. The woman who was now ready to take her power back. I took a deep breath. The final battle was approaching. I stood outside the door of my family’s house, my stomach in knots. The world outside seemed so bright and normal. But inside, the storm I felt brewing in my chest felt unbearable. Every step toward the door felt heavier than the last.

The Family Dinner

The dinner had been arranged for a simple family gathering, but it felt like a stage set for a confrontation, a stage where my world, the life I had built, might crumble to dust. I walked in, and the warmth of the home only served to highlight the coldness in my heart. The place I once thought of as safe now felt foreign. I felt so alone, isolated, as if my entire family was playing their part in a game I was too naive to understand.

My mom was already seated at the head of the table, a picture of calm, her eyes watching me with a certain unreadable intent. Sam was at the far end, looking at her phone, pretending to ignore the tension that filled the room. I couldn’t blame her. She must have known this day was coming. The weight of the betrayal pressed on me. Ryan’s words, still echoing in my mind, only made things worse. How could he have nearly been bought by my mother? How had I missed it? My trust in him, in everyone, was faltering. I tried to focus, but every time I looked at Sam, her silence screamed at me. She hadn’t spoken to me since the night I found out the truth, and I could feel her eyes avoiding mine.

Sam’s Confession and Mother’s Deceit

“Sam,” I began, my voice trembling, but I forced myself to stand tall. “We need to talk.” She looked up, a flicker of guilt crossing her face. She opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again. The tension in her face was palpable. I could see the struggle inside her. The way she tried to convince herself that what had happened wasn’t her fault. “I know what you’ve been doing, Sam,” I said, my words firm, though every part of me wanted to break down. “I know you’ve been helping, Mom. I know you’ve been paid to keep quiet.” Her face paled, and she swallowed hard. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she stammered. But I could see the guilt in her eyes. She was lying, and we both knew it. “Don’t lie to me,” I snapped. “You’re the one who’s been keeping everything from me. You’ve been playing a part in this entire thing, and I’ve had enough.”

I felt my pulse quicken. The anger I had been holding back all this time was spilling out. Sam’s eyes filled with tears, and she stood up. “Maddie, please,” she begged. “You don’t understand. Mom… She said she was helping me. She said I had to do this for our family, for our future.” The words hit me like a slap in the face. It wasn’t just my mother. It was Sam, too. She had been bought by Charlotte’s lies, and now she was trying to justify it, trying to make me believe that everything she had done had been for our family. “I don’t need to understand, Sam,” I said, my voice thick with hurt. “What you did is inexcusable. You’ve betrayed me, just like she has.” I turned away from her, unable to hear any more of her excuses. The betrayal I felt was unbearable. My sister, the one person I thought I could rely on, had chosen her side, and that side was with my mother, the person who had ruined everything for me. I felt the tears sting at the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

I went into the living room, needing space to breathe. The weight of the discovery of all the lies pressed on me. I couldn’t breathe. How had everything gotten so twisted? I felt like I was suffocating, drowning in this sea of deceit. I couldn’t let this go on. I couldn’t let my life be controlled by Charlotte any longer. She had manipulated me, and she had turned my own family against me. It was time for me to take control. I couldn’t keep letting her win. As I paced the living room, my thoughts were chaotic. I needed evidence. I needed to expose her for what she truly was. I would confront her, show her the truth. But first, I needed to gather everything I had on her. I needed to take action. I spent the next few days going through everything. Documents, photos, old letters, anything that might expose the web of lies my mother had spun around me. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t eat. My only focus was on gathering the truth. And I wasn’t going to stop until I had it. Finally, I had everything I needed: the journal, the documents, the emails, the evidence that my mother had orchestrated everything. She had torn my life apart. But now it was time to expose her for what she truly was. I walked to the bathroom, staring at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot, and my face was pale. But there was a fire burning inside of me. I wasn’t the girl she had tried to control. I was stronger than that now. It was time. The showdown was coming. I was ready.

Ryan’s Final Apology

The room felt suffocating. Ryan was standing in front of me, but the space between us felt endless. My hands shook as I crossed my arms, trying to hold myself together. I couldn’t breathe. The lies, the deceit. I was drowning in it. I needed answers. I had to know. “Ryan,” I said, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to stay calm. “I need you to tell me everything, now.” His eyes flickered. He knew this was coming. There was no running from the truth anymore. “I… I didn’t want this to happen, Maddie,” he began, his voice low. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but I… I was wrong. Your mom, she…” He stopped himself. The hesitation was unbearable. I stepped closer, my fists clenched. “What did she do, Ryan?” He exhaled deeply, as if preparing himself for the storm that was coming. “She offered me money to get you to distance yourself from your family. I… I didn’t take it at first. I thought about it, but she was so convincing. She made it sound like it was what was best for you, for us.”

The world seemed to tilt. Everything I had known, everything I had believed about him, was shattering. I stared at him, wide-eyed, not knowing if I was hearing what I thought I was hearing. “She paid you to keep me away from my family,” I whispered, barely able to process the words. “She manipulated you into ruining everything.” Ryan’s face crumpled in guilt, but it did nothing to ease the pain. “I wasn’t strong enough to resist her. She’s so persuasive, Maddie. She… She made me believe I was doing it for the right reasons.” The anger inside me boiled over. “You were supposed to be on my side. You were supposed to be the one person I could trust, and you betrayed me.” He tried to reach for me, but I stepped back, shaking my head. The words I wanted to say got stuck in my throat. The betrayal was too much. I turned away, pacing the room. “How could you, Ryan? How could you do this to me?”

“I… I don’t know. I didn’t see it until it was too late. She had me under her thumb.” “Stop.” I spun around to face him, my chest heaving. “Stop trying to make excuses. You knew it was wrong. You knew this would destroy me, and you still went along with it.” There was silence for a moment, thick and heavy. Ryan looked broken, but his apology meant nothing now. His words couldn’t undo the damage he’d done. “I never wanted to hurt you, Maddie. I’m sorry,” he said, his voice cracking. The sincerity in his voice made my insides twist, but it didn’t change the fact that I felt completely betrayed. I had trusted him with everything, and now I saw him for what he truly was: weak, manipulated, and complicit in the very scheme that was tearing my life apart.

I took a deep breath, forcing the tears back. “I can’t do this anymore, Ryan. I can’t be with someone who would let my mother destroy me like this.” His face paled as he realized what I was saying. “Maddie, no. Please don’t say that.” “I can’t keep living in this lie. You’re not the person I thought you were. I’m done.” I walked out of the room, not waiting for his response. I didn’t want to hear any more apologies. The damage was done.

A Glimmer of Hope

Alone in my apartment, the weight of everything came crashing down. I had no family left, no one I could trust. It wasn’t just Ryan. It was Charlotte. She had poisoned every relationship I had, including the one I had with myself. How had I not seen it? I sat on the floor, feeling the cold emptiness around me. I had to do something. I had to fight back. I couldn’t let her win.

And then, just as I was about to give into the despair, something caught my eye. A small envelope had been slipped under my door. I opened it, surprised to see it was from someone I never thought would reach out to me. It was Emma, my best friend. She had heard everything, and she was offering to help. The letter was short, but the message was clear: She wanted to take down Charlotte. She was ready to stand by me. For the first time in days, a sliver of hope broke through. I wasn’t alone. Not anymore. Emma was my ally, and together, we were going to expose Charlotte’s lies. I didn’t know how it would unfold. But one thing was clear: There was no turning back now. I was going to take down my mother, and no one was going to stop me.

The Hospital Records and Ryan’s Plea

The weight of the past was suffocating. Every breath I took felt heavier than the last, every thought darker. My world had been completely upended. And as much as I tried to focus on something else, my mind kept drifting back to the same painful truth: My mother, the person I should have been able to trust the most, had betrayed me in ways I never imagined. I had come to my breaking point.

I stared at the document I had just uncovered, a crumpled, yellowed letter hidden in the back of one of my mother’s old files. It was a letter from a hospital dated years ago, one that should have never existed. As my hands shook, I read the words that confirmed the unimaginable. My mother had bribed a doctor to have me committed to a psychiatric hospital when I was a teenager. They said it was for my own good, that I was unstable. But now I knew the truth. It wasn’t for my own good. It was to control me, to take away my voice, to strip me of my power, and to keep me under her thumb. It wasn’t the first time she’d manipulated the system to get what she wanted. But this was the most vicious, the most permanent. I couldn’t breathe. How had I not seen it? How had I been so blind? I paced the room, my thoughts spiraling out of control. Every word my mother had ever said to me came flooding back. And now I saw them for what they were: Lies. Her actions had been carefully crafted to isolate me, to make sure I’d never stand on my own two feet. All those years I thought I was being protected. But all I had been was a pawn in her game. Tears stung my eyes, but I wiped them away angrily. I wouldn’t let her do this to me anymore. Not now. Not ever again. I needed to confront her, to finally see her for the monster she truly was.

But before I could make my next move, my phone rang, breaking the silence. It was Ryan. I hesitated, the anger rising in my chest at the thought of him. The betrayal he dealt me was still fresh, his confession still echoing in my mind. But I couldn’t ignore it. I had to know what he had to say, if anything.

“Ryan,” I answered, my voice colder than I intended. “Maddie,” he said softly. “I’ve been thinking about everything… about us. I… I need you to know something.” I rolled my eyes. “You’ve said everything there is to say. You helped my mother destroy me. What else could there possibly be?” There was a pause. “I… I know this doesn’t make up for what happened, but I’ve been doing some thinking. I realize how wrong I was. I didn’t see it back then. I didn’t understand the full extent of what was happening, but now I see it.” I felt my heart harden. “What do you mean you see it? You’re just now realizing it?” “I never wanted to hurt you, Maddie. I didn’t know how deep this all went. But I’ll do whatever it takes to help you fix this, to make things right.” I laughed bitterly. “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t something you can fix. You were part of it, and you were too weak to stand up to her.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. I could feel his regret, but it didn’t change anything. “I need to go,” I said flatly. “I have things I need to take care of. Don’t contact me again.”