Chapter 8
I
“I used to want a child of my own, said, voice hollow. “But now I’m glad that child was never born. At least he wouldn’t have to endure this life.”
“Don’t say that,” Adam said, his tone tinged with desperation. “We can still have a family. I’ll make things right, Claire. Please, just give me a chance.”
“Make things right?” I repeated, cold and unmoved. “My mother is dead, Adam. There’s nothing to fix. If you care at all, just sign the divorce papers. Otherwise, I’ll take this to court and Louise will be exposed as the third party. Is that what you want?”
I hung up before he could respond. He called me several more times, but I ignored
him.
That evening, my former supervisor reached out, asking if I’d consider
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returning to work. She’d asked me before, but I’d always refused because of my mother’s health and my obligations to Adam. This time, though, I didn’t hesitate. “Sure,” I replied.
She sounded delighted, instructing me to come in the following week for the onboarding process. Knowing I had a job to return to was a relief, a tangible step toward rebuilding my life.
Later that night, my friend invited me out for dinner, hoping to lift my spirits. When I returned, I spotted a familiar figure waiting by my apartment building: Adam.
His face lit up when he saw me and he walked over quickly. “Claire, where have you been? I’ve been waiting here for
hours.”
My earlier good mood vanished. “Why are you here?”
“I wanted to check on you,” he said, his tone unusually soft. “This place isn’t
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safe. You just got discharged from the hospital. It would be better if you moved back home.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I tried to walk past him, but he grabbed my arm.
“Claire, please, I’ve already looked into everything. It turns out Louise deleted the messages from the hospital. I didn’t know the details about your mother‘ s condition, but I swear, I wasn‘ t lying about my family’s medical history-”
I cut him off. “What difference does it make now? If my mother were alive, maybe we’d have something to talk about. But she’s gone, Adam. Stop trying to fix things that can’t be undone. I wish you and
Louise all the happiness in the world–just leave me alone.”
“Claire.” Adam‘ s eyes filled with
something like regret. “I never meant for things to go this way. I’ll have Louise
apologize to you, I promise. Just…come back.”
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Neighbors began glancing our way, drawn
by the drama and I felt a surge of irritation.
“Don’t you have anything better to do, Adam? Why are you pestering me?”
Those were words he‘ d used on me countless times in the past and now they seemed to hit him with unexpected force. He looked hurt. “Claire, I’ll do anything to make this right. I know I’ve made mistakes, but for the sake of our three years together, can we try again?”
“You and Louise took my mother from me. What good would your so–called punishment do now? It won’t bring her back.” My voice was steady, each word landing with calculated finality. “If I
could, I would end both our lives, just to be done with all of this.
Adam‘ s expression faltered, his confidence cracking. “Claire, please-”
“But I won’t,” I continued. “Because my mother, with her last breath, made me promise to live well, to take care of myself.
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Neighbors began glancing our way, drawn
by the drama and I felt a surge of irritation.
“Don’t you have anything better to do, Adam? Why are you pestering me?”
Those were words he‘ d used on me
countless times in the past and now they seemed to hit him with unexpected force. He looked hurt. “Claire, I’ll do anything to make this right. I know I’ve made mistakes, but for the sake of our three years together, can we try again?”
“You and Louise took my mother from me. What good would your so–called punishment do now? It won’t bring her back.” My voice was steady, each word landing with calculated finality. “If I could, I would end both our lives, just to be done with all of this.”
Adam‘ s expression faltered, his confidence cracking. “Claire, please-”
“But I won’t,” I continued. “Because my mother, with her last breath, made me promise to live well, to take care of myself.
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She didn’t want me to waste my life. So leave, Adam. For both our sakes.
I turned away, leaving him standing there, alone in the fading light.
