Page 123 of Kings Don't Break

“Kor, I only ever gave you the best?—”

I hack out a cold, loud laugh that cuts him off. “The best is being left swollen and bleeding on the floor? Save it, Ken. You did what you did, because you’re an abusive piece of shit who went on a power trip. You never loved me and never wanted what was best for me. You saw me as a weak woman to own and take your every frustration out on,” I say, glaring down at him. My face resembles his so many times, a cold slate with no empathy to be found. “But, guess what? I’m going to get the last laugh. I’m going to break you the way you tried to break me.”

Fury crawls onto his features and he almost leans up from his sprawled positon on the bed, as if he’s forgotten how injured he is. Something tells me if he could, he would rise up in this moment—he would do what he’s always done and seek to physically dominate me.

But, then it seems to dawn on him that he has no power. For once, I’m in control.

I smirk at him. “You have no idea how tempting it is to just… grab a pillow and hold it over you. No one would even know. It would be over before they do.”

His eyes widen. “Kor… wait a fucking second…”

I pick up a pillow from under the stack propping him up. “This is what it feels like, Ken. To be helpless and at someone’s mercy. It’s not very fun, is it?”

“Kor, stop… this isn’t funny!”

I move closer, letting the pillow hover over him as if I’m about to bring it down at any second. He begins squirming in place, trying to push himself up enough to either knock the pillow away or press the help button.

Watching him panic nurtures the darkest part of my soul. It satisfies the part of me that yearns to inflict some kind of pain on Ken in the way that he always made me suffer.

I let the moment stretch on for a while before the pillow drops from my hands and I take a step back.

“That would be too easy,” I say calmly. “I won’t ruin my life just to ruin you. You’re going to suffer all on your own. Karma’s real… and you’ve got plenty of it coming your way.”

“Kor… Kor, come back here!” he calls after me. “You’re my wife—you can’t leave me!”

“I already have, Ken. It’s over because I say it’s over.”

He calls my name all the way ’til I’ve reached the door and walked out of his room. Calls that are raspy and desperate. Calls full of panic from a man who’s lost all control.

Believe it or not, that in and of itself is enough revenge.

Once I leave the hospital altogether, I have one stop on my mind. Sydney swings by to pick me up in Mason’s truck, leaning over to push open the passenger’s side door. I hop in and thank her for coming.

“No problem. Let me guess. The police department?”

I nod. “If you don’t mind.”

“We’ve tried, Korine. He hasn’t been granted bail.”

“He will be this time,” I say, determination hardening my tone. “I’m going to make it happen.”

32

KORINE

“What’s the plan?” Sydney asks once we’re parked outside the Pulsboro Police Department. She turns off the engine and waits my answer. “There is a plan… right?”

I spend a few seconds watching police officers and town residents trudge in and out of the front doors of the station. A familiar sense of uncertainty expands inside my chest like a balloon filling with air.

“Sort of,” I answer eventually. “It’s not so much of a plan as it is a hope and a prayer.”

Sydney frowns. “This doesn’t sound good. Korine, you might want to rethink this. We don’t need to give them any more ammunition against Cash.”

“You can wait out here if you want.”

I hop out of the truck and start a fast stride across the parking lot. Several paces behind me, Sydney rushes to catch up. My thoughts focus on what lies ahead, tuning out everything else around me. I can’t spend time trying to convince Sydney of what I’m about to do. The longer I wait, the greater the chance I’ll lose my nerve.

A middle-aged man with hairy whiskers sticking out of his ears sits behind the information desk. The same man who had tried to dismiss me the time I’d been here weeks ago to report Ken’s abuse. His gaze flicks up from behind his readers the way it had before, his expression stiff and unwelcoming.