Chapter 5 - THE THRESHOLD
The room fell into a dead, ringing quiet.
Evelyn lay on her side, her neat bun unraveling into jagged strands across her face.
Her cream silk blouse was wrinkled, caught beneath her shoulder.
David stood over her.
His boots were planted wide, his body a solid wall between the fallen woman and the corner where his children hid.
He pointed a thick, steady finger down at her face.
His low-angle profile was carved out of hard shadow by the lamp light above.
"Come near my kids again..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
The raw, unyielding promise in his eyes was enough to freeze the breath in her throat.
Evelyn stared up at him, her lips parted in disbelief, her hand trembling as she pressed it against her bruised collarbone.
She opened her mouth to speak, to invoke her ownership of the house, her legal standing, her perfection.
Nothing came out.
Behind David, the small sound of shifting fabric broke the tension.
Leo had crawled out from the shadow of the armchair.
May you like
He didn't look at Evelyn.
He picked up the single broken ear of the plastic bunny from the floor and placed it gently into David’s back pocket.
