"I didn't! I have never tried to hurt anyone!"
Something clenched around my chest so hard I couldn't breathe.
"We've been together all these years. Do you really think I'm capable of that?"
He wasn't listening. He couldn't see anything except Zelda's pain, Zelda's tears.
He stood slowly, something dangerous pressing down from every direction, and came toward me one step at a time.
I backed away on instinct and slammed into the edge of a table. Nowhere left to go.
"Since you enjoy hurting people so much, you should pay for it."
His gaze dropped to my right hand, still raised to plead my case, and something in his eyes went cold and vicious.
Before I could pull away, he lifted his foot and stomped down hard on my right index finger.
I heard the bone crack—a sharp, clear snap—and then pain ripped through my whole body at once.
Cold sweat soaked through my back instantly. It rolled down my temples, my cheeks.
I could feel the bone in my finger, broken, and the pain had me shaking so hard I couldn't stop.
Tears poured down my face before I even registered them.
I crouched on the floor, biting down on my lip until I tasted blood.