Page 12 of Broken Trails
“Zoe, he’s a master manipulator. He wasn’t showing you love… he was baiting you.” The way he says it—like it’s so obvious—makes my stomach churn. But he’s not wrong.
“I don’t even know what love is supposed to look like, Jeff. Or feel like.”
The admission is bitter on my tongue, but it’s the truth.
Jeff’s voice softens. “Love isn’t meant to break you, Zoe. It’s not supposed to keep you small or make you question if you’re worth the space you take up. Real love builds you. It’s patient, steady. You’ll find it one day—you will—and when you do, you’ll wonder how you ever thought what you had before was enough.”
My throat tightens, but he doesn’t stop. “And leaving him? That was fucking brave. You know that, right? The best decision you could’ve made. I’ve seen what he’s like with you—how he talks to you, how he dims you down without you even noticing. You’ve been carrying that weight for years.”
The words are brutal, cutting deep in the places I thought I’d hidden well. But Jeff’s always been like this—brutally honest, no sugarcoating. It’s one of the reasons Danielle Collins introduced us years ago—back when I’d just moved to Sydney and knew no one. She was the first person I really connected with, the first one who made the city feel a little less overwhelming. And through her, I met Jeff. She’d told me I needed someone who could call me out when I got too wrapped up in my own head, someone who wouldn’t let me wallow. She wasn’t wrong. Jeff’s been doing exactly that ever since .
“But you don’t know what it was like.” My voice trembles, and I try to steady it. “No one does.”
“You’re right. I don’t. But I’ve got eyes, Zoe. And ears. I suspected, once. Remember? That night after Dani’s birthday, when you turned up with that story about slipping in the bathroom?”
My stomach churns. “It wasn’t—”
“Don’t you dare,” he snaps, cutting me off. “Don’t you stand there and insult my intelligence, babe. I didn’t push because I knew you’d shut me down, the way you shut everyone down. But don’t think for a second I didn’t know.”
My hands clench at my sides, nails digging into my palms. “Jeff, stop.”
“No,” he says. “Because you need to hear this. You deserved better than Liam. I’ve told you this before. And I’m not going to let you crawl back into some hole and act like it’s your fault that he’s a manipulative bastard.” Jeff exhales, collecting himself before he continues.
“I’ve drafted the paperwork,” he says, slipping into lawyer mode. “Asset division. Everything. I’ll email the copies when they’re done. Liam will do his thing, and he can try, but you just let me handle the rest.”
I sink onto the worn couch, phone pressed tight to my ear. My fingers trace the cracked leather of the armrest, and I chew on the inside of my mouth—a grounding habit. “You’re sure it’s airtight?”
Jeff huffs. “Zoe, do you think I’m some intern fumbling through my first case? It’s solid.”
The last part pulls a dry laugh from me, though there’s no humour in it. “Liam won’t go down without a fight.”
“Let him swing.” Jeff’s tone is colder than I’ve ever heard. “He can flail all he wants, but he’s outmatched. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
I want to believe him. God, I need to believe him. But the truth is, Liam doesn’t lose. Not easily. And when he does, he makes sure everyone pays for it.
My throat tightens, my voice barely audible. “You don’t know him like I do.”
“You’re right. I don’t. But I know you. And I know you’re stronger than you think. He only has power over you if you let him.”
That makes my chest ache because I know Jeff is right. But knowing it and believing it are two very different things. I shift, my eyes sweeping over the small space around me. It truly is a far cry from the sleek Sydney penthouse I own.
I kick off my flats, the most unremarkable pair I could dig out of my suitcase when I first arrived. The wedges I wore out of my parents’ house were left in the back of my car, abandoned along with the rest of the life I’d walked away from.
“You still with me?” Jeff asks, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, sorry.” I sit up straighter. “What were you saying?”
“I said you need to prepare yourself. Liam’s not going to roll over and sign the papers. He’ll intimidate, manipulate, and do whatever he can to make you regret this.”
“Yeah, I know,” I mutter.
“Good. Because I need you to think ahead. You’ve got leave from work, right?”
I nod, even though he can’t see me. “Yeah. My colleague wasn’t thrilled, but they’re covering for now. I said I’d try to work remotely, but it’s not the same.”
Yeah, my job is still there, even if I’m on leave indefinitely. Alicia, my second in charge, had been surprised but understanding when I told her. “Sort your life out,” she’d said with a warmth I didn’t deserve .
The office had been my anchor, my escape. Now it feels like a distant world.
