---- Chapter 19 The day before my planned departure for Maine, Michael's messages escalated. His initial pleading turned into demands, then into outright threats, all via text. He was too cowardly to say these things to my face, or even on a call where Elizabeth might overhear. *Michael: Liv, answer your phone. We need to talk. NOW.* *Michael: This is ridiculous. You're destroying everything I've worked for!* *Michael: Your mother is poisoning you against me. You need to think for yourself!* | read them with a detached sort of amusement. His self-importance was staggering. His inability to see his own role in this catastrophe, complete. *Michael: Serena is distraught. You're ruining her life too! She's an innocent victim in all this!* An innocent victim. | almost choked on my water. *Me: Is she, Michael? Or is she the architect of your mutual destruction? You should ask her about her 'deceased' partner. * ---- He didn't reply to that for a while. Then: *Michael: Don't try to change the subject. This is about your vindictiveness.* *Michael: | demand you call my investors. Tell them it's a misunderstanding. Tell them you support me.* Demand. He was demanding. My fingers flew across the screen. *Me: Demand? That's rich, Michael. The only thing | demand is for you to lose my number.* *Michael: You'll regret this, Olivia. You'll come crawling back when you realize what you've thrown away.* *Michael: I'm still your husband, in the eyes of God! You owe me your loyalty!* | snorted. The eyes of God. He was really scraping the bottom of the barrel. *Me: You need therapy, Michael. And a good lawyer. Though | doubt even Perry Mason could save you from this mess you've made.* His replies became more frantic, more abusive. | read them, one last time, then calmly blocked his number. | picked up my burner phone, the one Elizabeth had provided for essential communications. Then, | took my old phone, the one filled with his toxic messages, and dropped it into a glass of water. ---- A small, satisfying sizzle. Communication cut. His arrogance, his delusion, his anger - they could fester in his own little world. They had no place in mine anymore.