“I agree.” She left the room to prepare the coffee when she heard the switch sound on the kettle. Keep calm, girl. Let him say what he likes. You know what happens when you challenge him. With her inner voice’s instructions foremost in her mind, she returned to the living room and placed the two mugs of black coffee on the small table. She invited Darryl to sit in the only comfortable chair, volunteering to sit at the small table herself. But Darryl dropped lopsidedly into the other chair around the round table and just stared at her. Sally pushed his cup towards him.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because it looks as though you need sobering up.”

“Not the damn coffee.” He struck the mug with the back of his hand and sent it hurtling across the room, where it hit the newly painted wall.

“That’s enough, Darryl,” she said, fear causing her voice to tremble.

“Is it?” he snarled, baring his sparkling white teeth, which he’d recently spent a fortune on, in spite of their hefty debts.

“What do you want? Why are you here?”

“I want you. You’re my wife. You belong to me.”

Sally shook her head and let out her breath slowly. Keep calm. Don’t let his temper escalate. “You’re wrong. I don’t belong to anyone, Darryl. I’m my own person. I also have a decree absolute stating that we’re no longer husband and wife.”

He leaned over the table, his face inches from hers, until she had the courage to pull away and recline against the back of her chair. Her heart raced, outrunning her thoughts. Experience told her what to expect when he was drunk and angry.

“We were married and remain married in the eyes of the church. I won’t let a shitty piece of paper come between us. You hear me?”

“I don’t want any trouble, Darryl. You have no right being here. The judge went out of his way to tell you to leave me alone. All I want to do is get on with my life, a stress-free life from now on.”

“We can do that together. Live together as a married couple again. Why not?” His brow furrowed deeply.

“It’s over. We’re over. Why can’t you accept that and just get on with your life?”

He rose from the table. Her stomach muscles clenched nervously when he moved towards her and towered over her. She stared ahead, focusing on the kitchen doorway instead of being drawn to look at him. He shuffled back and forth, as if trying to decide what to do next, then thankfully, returned to his seat. She swallowed, remoistening her dry throat.

“Why?” he repeated. “What went wrong?”

You name it, you did it. Anything and everything from gambling, drinking, womanising to frittering away all our money on ‘dead-cert money-making ideas’ your loser friends insisted you should invest in. “It’s simple. We fell out of love. There’s no need to search long and hard to find a reason, Darryl. We simply grew apart.”

“I didn’t. I’ve ached for you every day since we parted. A pilot’s life can be a very lonely existence. You just couldn’t get your head around that.”

“Is that why you turned to work colleagues in your times of need?” She flinched when the words emerged from her mouth. If she could have bitten her tongue in two at that moment, she would have happily done so as she watched his eyes widen in anger.

“You’re wrong. What are a few drinks after a long flight?”

“It wasn’t the drinks that concerned me. The selfies the pair of you took screwing each other this way and that were your undoing. They pushed me over the edge.” Shit! Now you’ve riled him. Why don’t you learn to keep your mouth shut?

He stood, tipping his chair backwards. He marched towards her, quickly covering the divide between them, and grabbed her jacket lapels before she had the chance to escape. Darryl hauled her to her feet. Their noses, as well as other parts of their bodies, touched. She made a point of staring into his angry eyes as she felt his erection grow against her thigh. Please no. Not again. Don’t let him hurt me. All the police training she’d been through over the years seemed to dissipate at that instant, just as it had deserted her throughout their abusive marriage. For once in your life, stick up for yourself. Don’t let him harm you anymore. Her inner voice demanded action, and she followed through on that advice.

She pushed at his chest, catching him off-guard. He toppled onto his backside on the floor, dazed. She leaned over him and shouted, “No more. You’ll never lay another hand on me. Do you understand?”

Darryl appeared to relax, but she refused to drop her guard, thinking that he was playing a trick on her. Finally, she backed away and dropped into her chair again. He gently got to his feet, still swaying a little, and returned to his chair.

“I’m sorry. Why can’t we just talk and try and work things out?” he pleaded softly.

“Because it’s over. O…V…E…R. Over, Darryl. When are you going to realise that?”

“But I still love you. I can’t switch my love off like a light switch. You love me, too, right?”

Sally looked him in the eye and shook her head slowly. “No. I don’t love you. Over the years, you’ve destroyed any respect or love I ever had for you. The truth is, I fell out of love with you a year after we got married. I didn’t have the heart to tell you, though. I’m not as stupid as you think I am. I knew you were screwing half the stewardesses on your trips, but I was so engrossed in my own work that I chose to ignore it. But those selfies brought everything to a head, and I could no longer put up with your womanising ways. I think half the time you believe you have the right to dip your dick where it suits. I have news for you, Darryl—you don’t. For my own safety, I had to call a halt to it. Haven’t you noticed over the past few years how many times I refused to have sex without you wearing a condom? I was scared of what disease you might infect me with. Yes, that might be an OTT reaction, but the thought of you screwing every stewardess you came into contact with used to fill me with disgust. I no longer have to face such fears, now that I’m single.”

“Who is he?” he spat at her.

“What? What the fuck are you talking about? You think I have another man in my life, when I’ve had to deal with all the shit you’ve poured on me lately? Christ, if only you knew.”

“Knew what?”

“Knew how you’ve succeeded in putting me off men for life. I swear I will never let a man get under my skin again. Never.”

“Yeah, you say that now. You will. No woman can live without having sex in their lives. You need us as much as we need you.”

“Really? How nineteenth century of you to even suggest that. You really have no idea. In your eyes, women are there to be used and abused at will, aren’t they? Be honest with me.”

His gaze drifted and in that moment, she knew she’d summed up her ex accurately for the first time in her life. How refreshing it was to have the freedom to do that since the divorce papers were finally signed.

“I loved you. I still love you, and I will get you back in my bed one day,” he replied, defiantly wringing his hands together on the table.

She stood up and motioned for him to leave. “No, I can categorically say that will never happen again. I despise you, Darryl. You ruined my life, the life we shared. We had it all, and you shattered it with your selfishness. Now get out of here and don’t come back.”

His shoulders slumped as he made his way to the front door. She kept her distance behind him. He opened the door and twisted to talk to her. She jumped back a few paces. He frowned. “Is that it? Is that what it has come to? That you fear me? Fear being within a few feet of me?”

“That about sums it up, Darryl, yes.”

He turned to face the front door again, but instead of walking through it, he slammed it shut. The next few seconds passed by in a flash. She had foolishly lowered her guard enough for him to get close again. His movements were like lightning. Was he pretending to be drunk all along? Within seconds, he had pinned her underneath him to the living room floor, his hand pressed firmly over her mouth, preventing her from screaming. Please, don’t let him do this to me. Not again!