Chapter 8 - THE MAN WHO THOUGHT I HAD NOTHING
After I hung up with Laura, I couldn’t move.
Rachel sat beside me.
“Megan.”
I looked at her.
“Did you hear everything?”
She nodded.
“What are you thinking?”
I looked down at Emily.
“I’m thinking I was never crazy.”
Rachel reached for my hand.
“No.”
“I spent years wondering why I felt like I was always failing.”
My voice shook.
“Why every conversation ended with me apologizing.”
Rachel squeezed my fingers.
“You weren’t failing.”
I laughed quietly.
“I almost believed him.”
“That’s what people like him do.”
That sentence stayed with me.
People like him.
Because for so long, I had thought Derek was just selfish.
Immature.
Stressed.
But maybe it was bigger than that.
Maybe it was intentional.
Meanwhile, Derek was sitting in his office pretending everything was normal.
His coworkers noticed.
“You okay?” one of them asked.
He looked up.
“Fine.”
“You look exhausted.”
“I’m dealing with a family situation.”
Everyone nodded sympathetically.
That was Derek’s specialty.
Making people feel sorry for him.
His phone buzzed.
A message from his attorney.
He opened it.
The words on the screen made him angry.
“Are you sure you want to proceed with this?”
Derek typed back immediately.
“Yes.”
Another message appeared.
“Because once you file, there’s no going back.”
Derek stared at the screen.
Then he looked out the window.
For years, he had believed Megan needed him.
He believed she was too scared to leave.
Too dependent.
Too emotional.
But now?
Now she had disappeared.
And that terrified him.
He called his lawyer.
“She took my daughter.”
The attorney corrected him.
“She gave birth to your daughter.”
Derek clenched his jaw.
“She left without telling me.”
“Were you present when she went into labor?”
Silence.
The attorney sighed.
“Derek, this matters.”
“She’s trying to punish me.”
“No.”
“What?”
“From what you’re telling me, she left because she felt unsafe.”
Derek stood up.
“She is my wife.”
The attorney was quiet.
Then:
“Was.”
That one word hit him harder than expected.
That evening, I received an email.
From Derek.
The subject line made my stomach turn.
“Emergency Custody Concern.”
I opened it.
The message was short.
Too short.
Megan,
You left with my daughter without informing me. I have every right to know where she is. If you continue refusing contact, I will take legal action.
I stared at the screen.
My hands started shaking.
Not because I believed him.
Because I knew him.
This was how Derek fought.
Not with apologies.
Not with understanding.
With power.
Rachel saw my face.
“What happened?”
I handed her my phone.
She read it.
Then slowly looked up.
“He’s threatening you.”
I nodded.
“He thinks he can scare me into coming back.”
“What are you going to do?”
I looked at Emily.
Then at the hospital room around me.
The old Megan would have panicked.
The old Megan would have begged.
The old Megan would have called him and tried to fix everything.
But that woman was gone.
I picked up my phone.
May you like
Opened a new message.
And started typing.
