I should have known then that he would escalate. Men like Blaine often prefer public disgrace to public contradiction, because contradiction threatens the mythology they sell to others.
“Careful,” he said. “You sound bitter.”
“You sound nervous.”
That was when he lifted the glass.
For a moment, I thought even Blaine might stop. The room was too visible, too crowded, too full of phones and witnesses. Yet arrogance can make a man believe that if he has survived consequences long enough, consequences are no longer real.
He tipped the red wine over my shoulder.
The liquid spilled across my dress in a dark, deliberate stream.
Gasps moved through the room. Someone whispered, “What is wrong with him?” Another voice said, “Did he really just do that?”
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Blaine smiled.
“What are you going to do, Celeste?” he asked. “Stand up for yourself?”
That sentence emptied the last mercy from the room.
