Page 78 of Next Time Will Be Our Turn
He was silent for a beat. When he next spoke, his voice turned into a low growl. “I was going through a very hard time. Some mistakes were made. But I am a better man now. I am changed.”
“I somehow doubt that.”
“It’s not for you to judge. It’s up to an actual judge to do that. Now please return my daughter to her home country; otherwise, I will tell my lawyer to alert the authorities.”
“Iris made me promise to take care of her. On her deathbed, she made me promise not to let you have her. That was how badly you treated my sister.” I didn’t think it humanly possible to hate someone this much.
“I’m very sorry to hear that.”
I could practically hear him smirking as he said it. He hadn’t changed one bit. He was still the sadistic, coldhearted monster he’d been when he was together with Iris. He was enjoying this, I realized. Savoring the power he held over the whole situation. The thought of sweet little Hazel being under his control mademe almost physically sick. How would he react to her tantrums? What would happen when she shrieked or cried too long or lashed out and broke something of his? How would he raise this inquisitive, bright girl?
I saw Hazel under Erik’s care. The way fear would shape her life, molding her with its sharp talons into a scared young girl, then a fearful young woman who believed that when a man raised his hand against her, it was because she hadn’t tried hard enough to please him. And I knew then that I couldn’t let him do that. I couldn’t let Hazel be handed off to him. Iris had been smart enough to see this coming. She’d made me promise because she knew what would happen once she was gone. And I had promised.
I felt my heart crack in half as I said, “I’ll see you in court.” Then I hung up and let my head drop against the wall. The thump woke Hazel from her nap, and I went into her room.
She was sitting up in her bed, rubbing her eyes. When she saw me, she smiled and said, “Wia.”
I gathered her in my arms and kissed her forehead. “Hey, baby girl.”
“Wia, I miss Mommy.”
“Yeah. I do too, baby.”
“Wia, you will die too?”
“No. No, I’m staying.”
She patted my cheek and looked up at me, and she looked just like Iris in that moment. “You promise?” It felt like a sign, like Iris reaching from the other world to remind me of our last exchange.
“Yeah.” I closed my eyes and breathed her in. “I promise.”
Chapter 26
MAGNOLIA
2011
The next day, while Ellery was out getting groceries, I dropped Hazel off at the day care. When Ellery came home, I was waiting for her. “Hey, Tulip.” She put the milk and fruit away, then wrapped her arms around my waist. I turned away before she could kiss me, and her smile faded. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
I kept my gaze on my feet and stepped away from her.
“Hey, what is it?” she said softly, taking my hand.
Everything inside me screamed not to do this. There must be another way. Something I’d missed, a last-minute solution that would save the day. But there was none. There was just this horrible thing I had to make myself do. To end the one true relationship I’d ever had in my life. I made a mistake then. I glanced up and caught her eye, and immediately got lost in the endless ocean of her eyes. I knew then that I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave the love of my life. So I did the only thing I could.
“I want you to leave me,” I said.
“What? Tulip, what are you talking about?”
“If I want to have a fighting chance at keeping Hazel from that—that horrible man, I need to stay with Parker. I can’t be a divorced woman with no income and no house trying to win a custody battle.”
“Oh, Tulip—”
“I’ve done all my research. Spoken to all the lawyers I can speak to, and they all agree on this. I mustn’t leave Parker. I need to move back to Indonesia with him.”
Ellery’s face crumpled. She was so tall, so strong, and yet that day, she looked like a lost kid. “We can work something out. I’ll come with you to Indonesia. We can arrange something with Parker, something discreet, something—”
“He’ll never agree to anything like that. He’s too traditional. I won’t risk it. If he gets upset, he might leave me, and then Erik will get Hazel.”
