Me:
Read this. You need to understand why I can’t keep doing this.
His response is immediate, panicked.
Timmy:
What is this, Margaux? You’re calling me a narcissist now? That’s not fair!
But itisfair. It’s the truth he doesn’t want to face.
For the first time, I feel a sliver of peace. I’m no longer engaging with his manipulation, no longer allowing his words to dictate my feelings.
Timmy’s barrage of messages continues, each one more desperate than the last. But I don’t respond. I’ve said all I need to say.
His pleas, his promises, his guilt-tripping—they’re just noise now.
I focus on the silence between his words, on the strength I’m reclaiming with each ignored notification.
This is what freedom feels like.
Quiet.
Steady.
Mine.
CHAPTER 107
PISS-POOR POLICING
DEX
Watching Margaux from a distance has become a mix of pride, anguish, and white-hot fury. Every moment she pushes forward, takes a stand, or simply breathes through the chaos feels like a victory against the storm Timmy drags her through.
But it’s a storm she shouldn’t have to face at all.
The anniversary debacle was predictable. I didn’t expect anything different from Timmy—his selfishness, his ability to sour every significant moment, is legendary at this point.
Throwing the truck keys in the water? A childish tantrum.
Forcing her to endure public humiliation? Par for the course.
But Margaux sitting there, finishing her dinner while he sulked outside? That was resilience. Quiet, determined, and infuriatingly necessary resilience.
When she told Alice about how Timmy minimized her feelings and dismissed her yet again, my blood boiled. The audacity of that man to demand love and celebration when he can’t even muster basic respect.
But part of me was relieved.
Every selfish, toxic display is another crack in the illusion he’s managed to weave around her. His behavior paints him as the villain he is—and maybe this time she’ll see it clearly.
My rage, though, hits a different level when she tells Alice what Timmy did to her that night.
Rape.
There’s no other word for it.
She told him no.