But she simply turns in the opposite direction, then opens her door and disappears inside, never looking my way. / She is oblivious to what I have done to her. / She is unaware of the damage I have wrought; the ruin I have set in motion.
-- Narrator (Prologue)

Importance: This quote from the opening of the novel sets an ominous tone as Vanessa appears to be threatening the woman who is about to marry her ex-husband. There is a double meaning in this sentence as Vanessa believes she has ruined the girl because she has allowed her to fall in love with Richard, a man who is abusive. Because the reader presumes that Vanessa is another jealous ex-wife the sentence is interpreted to mean that Vanessa plans to ruin the woman who is engaged to her ex-husband.

After that, she’d forced herself to visit the college counselor, but despite the woman’s gentle...
-- Narrator (Chapter 1)