Đang tải thông tin quảng bá...
My Ex-Husband Returned, But I Ne ver Looked Back
NovelShort
Hoàn thành
“Lyra, is there really no chance to fix things?” Aiden Turner’s mother, Morgana Turner, sighed, still hoping I would stay. I froze. For a moment, I felt a little pity, but when I thought of my o...
Chương (8)
第1章
“Lyra, is there really no chance to fix things?”
Aiden Turner’s mother, Morgana Turner, sighed, still hoping I would stay.
I froze. For a moment, I felt a little pity, but when I thought of my own family, I signed the divorce papers without hesitation.
When she saw what I did, she didn’t say anything else.
On the night before our anniversary, Aiden and his first love, Aurelia Hughes, walked into a hotel holding hands.
I tried calling him, but my thirteen-year-old son answered instead.
“Dad’s at a parent-teacher meeting. No outsiders are allowed to bother him!”
My son spoke in a cold tone, then blocked me.
That night, my stomach illness acted up again. I waited for Aiden to come home and take me to the hospital.
However, Aiden only glanced at me once before leaving on a trip with Aurelia.
While I stayed in the hospital, Aiden posted a message on his Instagram Story.
The picture showed Aurelia standing beside a Ferrari, with flowers and a Rolex he had set inside for her.
The caption said, [My love, always burning with passion.]
I didn’t argue like before and simply left a comment. [Wishing you both a happy marriage.]
The next day, Aiden called; his voice sounded angry.
He demanded, “What will people at the office think of Aurelia because of what you comment? We’re getting married, stop acting out.”
“Listen to me, I left something for you at home.”
I laughed helplessly. “Aiden, this time there won’t be anything left for us.”
***
“You left almost everything to Aiden. What are you planning to do now?”
His mother, Morgana, had always been a respected elder, so I didn’t hide anything in front of her. She carefully went through the agreement, her brow tightening and finally asked me this.
I calmly smiled. “I asked for the divorce and he keeps custody of the kids. It’s natural that he gets the bigger share of what we own.”
I slid the agreement toward her. “Could you check again and see if anything should be adjusted?”
Morgana knew a bit about what had been happening at home.
She had watched me give in again and again, her eyes showed a small look of care
In the end, she nodded.
After I walked Morgana out, I planned to go straight home, but then I remembered Isaiah had said he wanted Ultraman cakes from Brineheart this morning, so I turned around and drove there.
The trip back and forth took a full four hours.
Even though I raised Isaiah myself, his habits and ways were very much like Aiden’s and he was extremely picky with food.
By the time I returned with the cakes, it was already dark.
The scene in the living room, the moment I opened the door, made me freeze where I stood.
My husband and my son were laughing and chatting with another woman.
“Aunt Aurelia, the small cakes you bought taste so good! They’re even better than the ones my mom gets!”
His clear voice hurt my ears.
Aiden’s face tightened when he noticed I had come back and he asked impatiently, “Where did you go? Why are you this late?”
Aurelia sat on the couch, focused on Isaiah’s building blocks. She lifted her head and gave me a smile. “You’re back.”
In that moment, I suddenly felt they were the real family of three.
And I was just someone who had walked in by mistake.
My emotions turned, but I forced myself to push them down.
I slowly moved to Isaiah’s side and softly ran my fingers over his smooth hair. “Didn’t you say you wanted an Ultraman cake? Mom bought it for you.”
He pushed my hand away, annoyed. “Mom, Aunt Aurelia already gave me an Iron Man cake. I don’t like Ultraman now, I like Iron Man.”
Aurelia smiled, her tone gentle. “Kids are like this, always wanting new things and liking whatever catches their eyes. They’ll change again later.”
It sounded like she was soothing a child, but each word felt like it landed on me instead.
Just then, Aiden walked out of the kitchen.
“Dinner’s ready.”
I froze.
We had been married for so many years and he had never cooked before.
This was the first time.
It was also the first time I had seen him make a meal for this home.
I hurried back to the bedroom, changed my clothes and quickly sprayed some medicine on my already dried-up wound before coming out.
At the dining table, the three of them talked and laughed as if it made no difference whether I was there or not.
I quietly went into the kitchen and scooped myself a bowl of rice.
It wasn’t until I sat down that I noticed Aiden’s cooking skills were actually quite good.
Aurelia, with obvious pride, turned to Isaiah and asked, “Isaiah, have you ever eaten your father’s cooking before?”
Isaiah shook her head.
Aurelia seemed to recall something, her tone touched with old memories, “Your father really liked to cook. During the years we stayed overseas, he was mostly the one cooking for me.”
As she ended her words, her eyes stayed on me for a brief moment, almost too small to notice.
Then, with a smile and a light bit of wonder, she looked at Aiden. “So many years have gone by and you still remember my favorite dish, your sweet and sour pork ribs?”
My hand holding the utensils paused a little.
Aurelia’s smile grew even brighter.
Aiden looked at her a bit uneasily, but his voice was gentle, “Why are you bringing all that up? Let’s eat.”
Their talk sounded like a pair long apart yet still matching perfectly.
I lowered my head and felt that the rice in my bowl suddenly had no taste anymore.
第2章
After dinner, Aurelia stood up and walked outside. She soon came back from the car holding three pretty gift boxes.
She handed one toward me, her voice soft and polite.
“This is for you, Lyra. Thank you for these years of tiring work, thank you for looking after Aiden so well.”
I lowered my eyes and did not lift my hand to take it.
Aiden’s neat brows pulled together right away and the air around us seemed to stop for a moment.
“Aurelia is kindly giving you a gift, Lyra. Don’t act like you don’t appreciate it.”
“That’s right, Mom, how can you be so thoughtless?”
The father and son’s yelling pressed down on me and I felt a tight ache in my chest, almost making it hard to breathe.
I raised my eyes toward Aurelia.
She kept smiling, her smile soft and calm, but a bit of open self-satisfaction showed in her eyes.
I stayed quiet for a moment, then at last reached out and took the gift box.
As I sat back down at the table, I watched Aiden eagerly opening the gift Aurelia had given him, his eyes bright, even showing a bit of shyness.
This side of Aiden was frighteningly strange to me.
In seven years of marriage, he never showed this kind of look in front of me.
With me, he was always annoyed, distant and quick to be rude and blame.
I always knew that marrying him had been a step upward for me.
After dinner, a polite guest should have left long ago, but Aurelia stayed, cheerfully continuing her talk with Aiden about their funny moments studying abroad.
Isaiah sat near them, listening closely.
I looked at the clock on the wall, pressed my lips together and stayed quiet.
“I’m getting thirsty after talking for so long,” Aurelia said with a smile. “Aiden, is there anything to drink?”
“Lyra, go get a glass of water,” Aiden said lightly, his tone as casual as if he were talking to a helper.
“Me too! I want hot chocolate!” Isaiah yelled right away.
I answered by habit, “It’s too late, you can’t drink anything too sweet. Isaiah, a glass of milk is fine.”
Isaiah instantly got upset, lowering his head and sulking as he played with his building blocks.
“If he wants to drink, let him drink. Why are you so nosy?” Aiden’s tone turned clearly colder. “The child is still young, shouldn’t he enjoy more fun?”
He rarely stepped into my raising of Isaiah.
But today, seeing the child’s upset look, he seemed to suddenly think that all these years, I had been treating Isaiah badly.
“Let me say one more thing, Lyra,” he looked at me, his tone annoyed, “Your way of teaching your child is wrong. Holding back even a glass of juice will surely make him push back in the future.”
“The day he starts to hate you as his mother, it will be too late for you to regret.” Aurelia let out a soft sigh. Every word she spoke felt like an unseen but very sharp cut, hitting me again and again.
Looking at Isaiah’s slowly reddening eyes, I didn’t know what else to say.
Standing across from me were three people.
And I, clearly, had turned into the one pushed aside.
In the end, I gave in.
I turned and walked into the kitchen, poured Aurelia a glass of hot water and made a cup of hot chocolate as Isaiah had asked for.
But when I handed the water to Aurelia, the hand she used to take the cup suddenly let go.
The next second, the burning hot water splashed all over her legs.
“Ah!”
第3章
Aurelia cried out in pain.
It was freshly boiled water. I handed it to her without pause, never thinking she would let go at that moment.
But in Aiden’s eyes, there was only one meaning.
It was I who, on purpose, spilled the boiling water on Aurelia.
“Are you alright? Where are you burned? Let me see!”
Aiden suddenly jumped up, rushing over in a panic.
He moved too fast; he didn’t even look at me, pushing me aside with force.
I stumbled backward, my lower back hitting hard against the sharp edge of the shelf. The severe pain made my eyes fill with tears and I almost fell.
“Aunt Aurelia, are you alright?”
Isaiah, forgetting his earlier complaints, leaned in, his eyes red, carefully checking her legs.
Then, he lifted his head and looked at me with a scared look.
At that moment, the tight string in my heart for so long finally broke. From the moment Aurelia stepped into this house, my nerves had been tied tight; I had barely kept myself steady.
But when I saw my son look at me with that look, I couldn’t keep going anymore.
Six years of time and care.
A bond of blood that should not break.
In the end, it still couldn’t win over someone he had known only a short while.
Maybe Isaiah was not only like Aiden in how he acted.
Even the person he chose to care for was the same.
The sharp pain in my lower back was a clear reminder.
Aiden did not care about me, did not think about me and had never loved me.
“I’m fine, ouch…” Aurelia said, her voice shaking as she tried to hold back the pain.
“Don’t push yourself, come on, I’ll take you to the hospital.” Aiden made the choice right away.
“Dad, don’t leave me here alone, I’m scared…” Isaiah grabbed his shirt, his voice shaking with tears.
In that moment, my ears buzzed and the room seemed to go quiet.
Scared? Was he scared of me?
But I clearly did nothing.
I did not spill that water on purpose.
Aurelia let it go herself.
“Lyra, you really are something, scaring the kid like this.”
Aiden coldly said these words.
As he helped Aurelia past me, he simply pulled Isaiah along.
“Isaiah, let’s go.”
I reached out on instinct and held him, my throat tight, my lips shaking a little, wanting to speak.
“It wasn’t me…”
But before I could finish, Aiden interrupted me impatiently.
“I saw it with my own eyes, Lyra, what are you trying to deny?”
He stared at me, his eyes cold and full of disgust.
“Seven years, I thought you had changed a little, but you’re still the same, your head full of dirty tricks.”
“Lyra, you make me sick.”
The door slammed shut and the room went quiet at once.
That quiet was so heavy it almost took my breath. I walked into the storage room, picked up a broom and carefully cleaned the broken glass on the floor, piece by piece. Then I switched to a mop and slowly wiped the spilled water.
During the whole time, my movements were hard but calm.
It was like I was finishing a task I had done many times before.
Only my body moved; my heart had already turned numb.
Aiden and Isaiah didn’t come back until late at night.
I remembered the next morning’s plans very clearly.
Aiden had to attend the company’s usual meeting with the shareholders.
Isaiah had to go to kindergarten.
I always remembered these things better than anyone else.
All along, reminding them of times, looking after their daily needs, nothing was ever handled by them.
Like an assistant, like a nanny.
第4章
After waiting a long time, I finally called Aiden’s number.
I wanted to remind him that my father-in-law would join the shareholders’ meeting the next day and to ask him to dress the right way.
I also wanted to remind him that the nights were getting colder and to make sure Isaiah didn’t get sick.
But the call was cut off after only two rings.
“Hello, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable.” The cold voice startled me.
I called again.
It rang for a few seconds, but still no answer.
I called a third time, but there wasn’t even a waiting ring.
“Hello, the number you dialed is currently unavailable.”
I suddenly smiled.
But the smile didn’t reach my eyes.
I had thought that before leaving, I could at least say goodbye with some pride.
After seven years of marriage, I had tried my best to keep this marriage, this home.
Now, it was time to let go.
That night, Aiden and Isaiah never came back.
The next morning, I was woken by loud knocking at the door.
I thought Aiden had forgotten his keys.
But standing outside was my father-in-law, Rocco Turner.
“What time is it? You look like you just got up.”
His tone was unhappy as he walked into the house.
“Where’s Aiden? Didn’t I tell him ahead of time that he had to attend today’s meeting? I couldn’t reach him on the phone either. What happened?”
Rocco’s voice was loud and clear, his criticism ringing in the living room.
I pushed my messy hair aside; my throat felt tight and my voice was a bit rough.
“Aiden isn’t home.”
“Where did he run off to again? Where’s Isaiah?”
He looked at me, his brows pulling in even tighter.
“Shouldn’t you be taking the kids to kindergarten at this time?”
His look was filled with dislike.
Back then, when Aiden and I got married, it was Rocco who agreed.
What he cared about was always the face of the Turner Family. As for me, in his eyes, I was only someone who barely fit that name.
I had always known how Rocco looked at me.
I still spoke, trying to explain, “Aiden and Isaiah went to the hospital last night…”
Before I could finish, Rocco coldly asked, “Are they feeling sick? Why aren’t you at the hospital with them? What are you doing at home?”
My throat tightened, dry to the point of pain and my head pounded; I must have had a fever.
But right now, I couldn’t worry about any of that.
“No,” I said softly, “Aiden’s friend got burned last night and he took Isaiah to the hospital. He didn’t come back all night.”
Rocco’s look eased a little after hearing that.
“Which hospital? Take me there.”
I didn’t really know which one it was, but I had a rough idea.
There was a hospital close to our neighborhood where Aiden had a good friend, Kylee Johnson, who worked.
I went with Rocco to Kylee’s office. When we knocked and stepped in, we saw Isaiah fast asleep on a small bed, only a thin jacket loosely covering him.
Kylee’s look turned dark the moment she saw me.
But as soon as she saw Rocco, her face quickly brightened with a smile.
“Rocco, what brings you here?”
“Where’s Aiden?” Rocco asked, frowning, his tone cold.
“He’s in the room with a friend. I’ll take you over.”
As she walked past me, Kylee shot me a hard look, her eyes full of blame, as if I was the one who brought Rocco.
But I had no time to care about her mood.
Right then, my chest was in a mess.
I wanted to take Isaiah home, wash him, change his clothes and make him a hot breakfast.
But the lack of trust, even fear, in his eyes last night was still clearly stuck in my mind.
Never mind.
Even if I tried my hardest, my child might not want it.
第5章
I lowered my eyes, moved my sight away from Isaiah and walked out with Rocco.
Aiden had arranged a fancy hospital room for Aurelia.
Aurelia lay on the bed and Aiden slept beside her.
He only woke up in a dazed state when Rocco walked over, rubbing his eyes.
“Dad? Why are you here?”
“Do you know what day it is today?” Rocco’s voice turned hard. “Did you completely forget what I told you before?”
He started yelling at Aiden without giving him a chance to answer.
“Uncle Rocco, Aiden was just doing this to look after me…” Aurelia spoke softly, trying to calm things down.
Rocco shot her a cold look. “Be quiet.”
“Dad, why are you yelling at her?” Aiden stood in front of her right away. “This has nothing to do with her. I was the one who said we should come here. If Lyra hadn’t thrown hot water at her and burned her, would I have stayed up all night?”
The moment he finished, everyone’s eyes landed on me.
I shook my head, my voice light. “I didn’t do it.”
Aiden smirked, his tone sounding rude. “Still trying to deny it. I don’t care enough to argue with you.”
Rocco kept one hand behind his back and pointed at Aiden with the other, continuing to blame him for a while.
Only after Aiden lowered his head to apologize and kept saying it wouldn't happen again did Rocco turn around and leave.
Aiden and I walked him down together, watching the car drive off.
Then only the two of us were left.
Aiden yawned, looking worn out.
I had barely gotten any sleep last night and now I felt drained and tired, wanting nothing more than to go back and rest.
But before I could finish letting out my frustration, he stopped walking and stood in front of me, his tone cold.
“Congrats, you’ve gotten your plan to scheme again.”
“You hurt Aurelia and got me harshly yelled at by my father, Lyra. Are you feeling proud now?”
He stared straight at me, his look clearly warning me.
“I might overlook it this time, but there will not be another time. If I find out you’re plotting again, you’re leaving.”
He said this while wearing only a short-sleeved cardigan.
On his thin, pale wrist, he still wore the watch I had given him many years ago.
That watch was the only thing my father, whom I had never met, had left for me.
I had always kept it close as a sign of our love and also as a wedding gift, giving it to Aiden with a serious heart.
A thought crossed my mind. I didn’t answer his blame, but calmly asked, “Can you give me back this watch?”
Aiden froze for a moment, a quick mix of surprise and awkwardness passing over his face before anger rushed in.
“What? Is this cheap watch yours?”
His tone held clear anger, then he laughed coldly.
“You should’ve said it sooner! If I’d known it was from you, I would never have worn it.”
While saying this, he reached for the clasp.
I knew he honestly didn’t remember where the watch came from.
Aiden owned far too many watches; he even had a whole room just for storing them and the straps. This watch had been left in a drawer, collecting dust for a long time. Today, he likely just grabbed it because the style went with what he was wearing.
Since I had chosen to cut ties, I wanted it clean.
I wanted what belonged to me.
Whether it was a relationship or an item.
To him, it wasn’t worth anything and he had never cared about it.
But for me, it held deep meaning.
第6章
Aiden tried to undo the clasp, but it was too tight. His movements grew rougher, his patience thinning and he still couldn’t get it open no matter what he did.
His face slowly darkened.
Just as I was about to speak, he fully lost patience and pulled hard.
The watch strap came apart.
He tossed the broken watch onto the ground without care, his tone harsh.
“Here you go. What a useless thing and you even came all the way just to ask me for it.”
“How much money has the Turner Family given you all these years? Have I ever bothered to ask?”
He looked annoyed, even saying that much, threw out one more impatient line, then turned and walked away.
I bent down and picked up the watch. The once shiny surface was now covered in dirt and dust. But at least the thing I treasured was finally back in my hands. That was enough.
Aiden turned and went back into the hospital to stay with Aurelia.
I went home alone, getting ready to pack my things. I hadn’t been home long when my phone rang.
It was the kindergarten teacher calling. I watched the screen light up, then go dark, then light up again.
The phone rang again and again until it finally stopped. I let out a slow breath.
The teacher also had Aiden’s contact information. She should have reached him by then.
That was fine.
After I left, Aiden would have custody of Isaiah and he would naturally handle everything related to the child, including her school and her daily care.
Whether I stayed in that home or not no longer mattered.
Before I even packed a few things, there was a sound at the door.
Aiden had come back.
He was helping the mobility-impaired Aurelia, with Isaiah following behind, who was still not going to kindergarten.
“I’m sorry for troubling you again.” Aurelia sat on the sofa without any unease, a polite, soft smile on her face.
Aiden didn’t seem bothered at all, his tone full of bias. “You don’t need to say that to her. She was the one who messed up and caused your serious wounds. It’s normal for you to come here and get better.”
“Besides, Isaiah is really happy to have you here, right, Isaiah?”
Isaiah smiled shyly, walked to Aurelia’s side and held one of her hands with both of her small hands.
“Aunt Aurelia, I hope you can stay with me all the time.”
Aurelia looked at me for a brief moment, not answering right away.
Aiden’s face instantly grew dark, as if the anger he had stored up at the hospital that morning still hadn’t faded.
“Why are you looking at her? This is my home, the house is under my name, it has nothing to do with her.”
His tone became more and more annoyed.
“It’s so late, you didn’t even remember to send Isaiah to kindergarten, the place wasn’t cleaned and breakfast wasn’t made. You’re not even as good as a nanny.”
“What am I letting you stay here for? To spend real money on you?”
He said these things with no control.
But when he turned toward Aurelia, his tone softened, as if he were another person.
Isaiah couldn’t help but complain, “Mom, we’re having a paper-cutting activity today. You didn’t bring me to kindergarten, so I can’t cut paper with the other kids. It’s all your fault.”
“You can’t say that, she’s your mother.”
It was Aurelia who spoke up for me.
But I felt no thanks at all.
She quickly smiled at Isaiah and said, “Do you want to do paper-cutting? I can’t move on my own right now, so I’ll teach you. Whatever you want to cut, I can show you. I’ll cut better than the other kids.”
Aiden watched them talk, his face full of smiles.
Then he turned to me and said, “What are you still standing there for? Go make food. I haven’t eaten anything since morning, I’m starving.”
After saying that, he walked into the master bedroom to wash and change.
第7章
When he saw the suitcase I had just dragged out, he didn’t pause for even a moment. Seeing it as something that bothered him, he kicked it into the corner.
After breakfast, he pushed me to go to the dry cleaners to pick up his clothes.
I had barely returned and hadn’t even taken a sip of water when he sent me to Aurelia’s company to bring back some papers.
“My assistant had something come up and those documents are really important. I don’t really trust anyone else.”
Aurelia said this lightly, not showing the slightest sign of being sorry, as if it were completely normal for me to go for her.
I didn’t want to go.
But before I could speak, Aiden coldly pushed, “What are you standing there for? Go already!”
“Aurelia’s injury is your fault. You should be glad they didn’t call the police and drag you away. Now, asking you to help is only fair, isn’t it?”
I forced back the words “I don’t want to go.”
It took an hour and a half to drive from home to Aurelia’s company.
By the time I returned home, the sky was already fully dark.
As soon as I stepped inside, I heard Aiden on speakerphone, picking up a call from the kindergarten teacher.
“Hello, Mr. Turner, the kindergarten will have a parent-child activity tomorrow. We hope you and your child’s mother can come. This activity is mainly to help build parent-child closeness.”
“Okay, no problem, I’ll definitely be there tomorrow.”
Aiden answered with ease.
Isaiah suddenly brightened. “Daddy, can we go with Aunt Aurelia? Aunt Aurelia is great at paper cutting and she knows a lot of superheroes. My friends will for sure be jealous of me!”
I stood in the entryway, feeling strangely foolish for a moment.
My voice came out on its own, carrying a small tone of putting myself down.
“What about me?”
Isaiah lowered his head, choosing not to answer.
He still seemed upset about Aurelia’s burn yesterday.
The three of us, who had been so lively just minutes earlier, went quiet at the same time.
Aiden soon broke the quiet, his tone cold and plain.
“Haven’t you already gone to so many parent talks for Isaiah? Don’t go this time.”
He looked at me, his brow pulling together a little.
“The house hasn’t been cleaned the whole day; it’s a total mess. You’ll stay tomorrow and clean it well.”
With a few simple words, he pushed me aside again.
As if it were the most normal thing in the world.
After he said that, he stood, stretched and his voice suddenly softened.
“I’ll cook tonight. Aurelia, what do you want to eat? Isaiah, what do you want to eat?”
In his world, there had never been a place saved for me.
“I remember you used to make braised prawns,” Aurelia said gently. “I haven’t eaten them in a long time and I suddenly want some.”
“Dad, I want prawns too!”
“Okay.” Aiden smiled. “I’ll make them for you right away.”
Isaiah happily followed him into the kitchen to help Aiden.
I handed the papers I had brought back from the company to Aurelia.
“Thank you for going out for this.” She took the papers and gave me a small, polite smile.
Then, as if something came to mind, she asked directly, “I’ll go to Isaiah’s parent-child event for you tomorrow. You won’t be upset, will you?”
In the past, this kind of question would have made me think about it seriously for a long while.
If it were before, if someone had tried to step into my marriage, tried to take my husband and child, I would have used all my strength to hold onto them.
But now it was different.
These last two days, the thought of leaving had become more and more clear.
Aurelia’s small moves, in my eyes now, were nothing.
My heart had been hurt too many times; it had already grown numb.
It no longer hurt and it no longer loved.
第8章
I shook my head and lightly picked up her empty water cup.
“No.”
She looked surprised at my answer, a strange look showing in her eyes.
Right away, she lowered her voice, her tone openly bold.
“Since you’re so easygoing, why don’t you just hand Aiden back to me? I can look after Isaiah, too, as long as he behaves.”
This time, she finally dropped her act.
I suddenly felt like laughing.
I had never truly held him, so what was the meaning of talking about giving him back?
Aiden’s heart had never been with me from the start.
Before, I had fooled myself, hoping to touch him.
Now, I was awake.
I didn’t want him anymore.
When she noticed I ignored her words and simply carried on with what I was doing, Aurelia narrowed her eyes, clearly not willing to stop.
As if she were thinking about her next move.
After dinner, Isaiah said he wanted to hear Aurelia tell a story.
Aiden went with them.
The three of them walked into Isaiah’s kids’ room and shut the door.
I had no idea what they said or did inside.
And I didn’t care.
I went back to the master bedroom, washed up quickly and without waiting for Aiden, lay down to rest.
I had been tired out from running errands all day.
But when the night grew late, I turned over and noticed the other side of the bed was still empty.
I instinctively picked up my phone and looked at the time.
12:30 AM.
Aiden always took careful care of his health, keeping a fixed routine, going to sleep early and waking up early, all to stay in his best shape.
By reason, he should have been back in the room by then.
Feeling unsure, I pushed open the bedroom door.
Before I even walked into the living room, I heard Aiden’s voice coming from the kitchen.
“Don’t…” A short, dragged-out sound, mixed with a purposely held-back note of worry and panic.
“Don’t push me away.”
Then came Aurelia’s lightly rough voice.
At that moment, it felt like something sharp went straight into my heart; my chest tightened and I almost couldn’t breathe.
Aiden soon walked out. When he saw me standing in the doorway, his face clearly froze, his voice uneasy.
“Weren’t you asleep? What are you doing out here?”
Aurelia slowly stepped out, steadying herself with a hand on the wall, as if she had just caught her balance. Her voice was soft and calm.
“It’s so late; you might want some water. Aiden just heated some water; do you want some?”
This scene, this way of talking, it felt like he was the one who owned this house.
And I was the only one staying here.
I didn’t answer them and went back to my room.
When I entered the bathroom, I turned on the tap right away, letting the cold water pour over my head.
The harsh chill didn’t calm the storm in my chest.
I never thought they would act so openly, even with me nearby.
I didn’t know how long it took before I finally settled down inside.
Since I had already made up my mind about a divorce, why let myself stay stuck on these things?
I walked into the study, locked the door and lay on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling.
I didn’t sleep at all that night.
At sunrise, I heard slow sounds outside.
Steps, voices and Isaiah’s bright, excited calls after waking up.
No one came to look for me.
No one said a single thing about what had happened the night before.
It felt like I wasn’t even part of their world.
After they left, I returned to the master bedroom and started packing my things.
In a strange way, after living in that house for seven years, the items that truly belonged to me didn’t even fill one suitcase once I packed them.
The room still looked messy.
The guest room had already been taken over by Aurelia’s things.
I only looked at them briefly before turning away.
No more looking back.
I took out the signed divorce agreement and set it on the dining table. Leaving the place I had called home, I rolled my suitcase out of the neighborhood, a quiet smile slowly forming on my face.
I was walking away from that suffocating space, leaving behind the people who had caused me so much hurt.
From that moment on, I was free.