Page 61 of Resist

He let go of my leg. “It is. It’s more than just ‘something’. You’re helping women who can’t help themselves.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, while he gets away with it.”

“Helena—”

“I know, I know. I’ve had two years to come to terms with the decisions I’ve made.” I glanced over at him, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. “You know who helped me make those decisions? Jason. He said to me the night before our divorce hearing, ‘Taking the high road isn’t easy, but I promise you the view is so much nicer up there’. I’ll never forget that. It was so … wise.”

“He’s a smart kid.”

I laughed. “Kid? He’s your age.”

“Not quite.”

I sipped my coffee. “Almost.”

“Remember what I said, Helena: age is just a number.”

“I suppose you think you’re wise, too?”

He smirked. “I am, and so are you for finally finding the courage to leave that scumbag.”

“It certainly wasn’t easy, but when he threatened to hurt Jason, that was it for me. Up until that moment, he’d never once touched him, never so much as raised his voice at him. It had always been me; I was the punching bag. Jason had always been safe.”

“What changed?”

“I don’t know. But the next morning, I packed some of our things and just … left.”

“Did he come after you?”

“Of course he did. He tracked us down very quickly via my credit card use.”

“So how did you get away from him for good?”

“I’d accidentally filmed one of his tirades on my phone. I’d been taking a video to send to my mother while getting ready for a gala dinner. Colin had had a shitful day at work and needed to ‘unload’. He came straight into our room and unloaded on me before I could switch off the phone. I mean, if he’d seen it while it was recording, I wouldn’t be standing here today.” I shivered at the thought. “Anyway, when he tracked Jason and me down at a city hotel that afternoon, I showed him the footage and threatened to send it via email to everyone on SunCoast’s board of directors.”

Lucas smiled, and I could see pride in his eyes. “That was brave as fuck.”

“Yeah, well … I didn’t let him go because he hurt me. I let him go because I was hurting myself by staying with him, and when you put yourself last, you lose. Simple as that.”

“You’re an amazing woman, Helena.”

“No, I’m not. I just decided that enough was enough. I wasn’t weak for loving him; I was stronger for letting him go.”

Lucas nodded and drank his coffee.

“And I need to remain stronger in the coming weeks.”

He placed both of our mugs on the glass table between us and then took my hands in his. “You’re safe. He can’t hurt you anymore, even in Cairns.”

I scoffed. “Oh, he can hurt me. He knows how—”

“I’ll protect you. We all will—”

I blinked and then snatched my hand back. “NO! Youallwon’t protect me. Please, Lucas, please don’t say a word of this to anyone.”

A strangled noise left his throat.

“I mean it. My silence forms part of a contract.”