I fought him with everything I had, but it wasn't enough.
I lay in a pool of my own blood, hands still clutching at myself, covering nothing.
Ernest held up his phone, the camera aimed at the mess of blood and tissue. "Don't worry, it's done. It came out. I can see it."
Maggie's voice came through the speaker. "Ernest, send me the video. I'll show my friends so she can't fake anything."
She was going to circulate it.
Panic hit me. I struggled upright and lunged for his phone.
Ernest backed away grinning, holding it just out of reach, filming my wrecked, flailing body like he was teasing a monkey for fun.
I looked at him, bitter and desperate to the bone. "Ernest, we loved each other for years. How can you bear to do this?"
His expression didn't change. "Do you have any idea what I sacrificed for you?"
"I begged Maggie for months before she finally agreed to let me keep you as my hidden mistress."
"The fact that I didn't dump you—that's already more than you deserved. How can you still be this ungrateful?"
A cry tore out of me. The room tilted and I collapsed back into the blood.
Maggie let out a soft laugh. "You know what, Ernest? I've come around."