Chapter 4

They found me in the sunroom, reading a book. Eleanor was with me, arranging flowers.

"Jocelyn!" my mother screeched, storming into the room. "Look what he did to your sister!"

She pushed Sabrina forward. A dark purple bruise was blooming on her cheek, and her lip was split. It was a familiar sight. I had worn the same marks for years.

I didn't move. I just looked at her, my expression calm.

"Brian has a temper," I said simply.

"A temper?" my father sputtered. "The man is a monster! You have to do something!"

Sabrina was sobbing now, a theatrical, heaving cry. "You tricked me, Jocelyn! You knew he was like this! You knew, and you let me marry him! You have to switch back!"

Eleanor looked at them, her refined face tight with disapproval.

I closed my book and placed it on the table beside me. "Switch back?" I asked, a small, cold smile on my lips. "How would we do that, Sabrina? Do you think marriage is like a dress you can return to the store?"

"Don't be smart with me!" my mother snapped. "This is your fault! If you can't switch back, then you have to help her. Give her money! The Lesters are rich, you can afford it. Give her enough to leave Brian and start over."

I let the silence hang in the air for a moment before I spoke, my voice quiet but carrying the weight of years of resentment.

"No."

"What did you say?" my father asked, taking a step forward.

"I said no," I repeated, looking directly at Sabrina. I threw their own words, the same hollow advice they gave me in my first life, back in their faces.

"A man doesn't hit a woman for no reason, Sabrina. You must have done something to provoke him."

Sabrina's tears stopped. She stared at me in shock.

I turned to my mother. "Marriage takes work, Momma. She can't just run away at the first sign of trouble. She made her bed, now she has to lie in it."

Then, I looked at my father. "You just need to be a better wife, Sabrina. Learn what makes him angry and don't do it. It's that simple."

The color drained from their faces. They were hearing their own cruel, dismissive words used against them, and they had no answer. They had never offered me comfort, only blame. I was simply returning the favor.

"You... you monster," Sabrina whispered, her voice trembling with rage, not fear.

"No," I said, standing up. "I'm just a fast learner. Now, I think you should all leave. You're upsetting Mrs. Lester."