Claire listened carefully.
She advised me to preserve photographs of my injuries, the damaged clothing, the police incident information, and any communications Spencer sent afterward.
She also explained that I could pursue a divorce and discuss protective measures if I believed his behavior created an ongoing safety risk.
I followed her advice.
I photographed my dress.
I saved the messages Spencer had sent during the night.
There were twelve of them.
The first demanded that I return home.
The second accused me of embarrassing him.
The third claimed that his mother was devastated.
The fourth threatened to cancel my access to our joint credit card.
Then the messages became more revealing.
“You had no right to involve strangers in our marriage.”
“You made me look like a criminal.”
“If you cared about this family, you would fix this.”
I read each message carefully.
Not once did he apologize for throwing the wine.
