Chapter 5

• Upstairs, I made my way to the bedroom I had been banished to.
• The room that had once been my comfort zone now felt cold and empty, a mirror of the future Tyler had left me with.
• I spotted my charger on the bed and remembered I needed to power my phone. I rushed to plug it in, knowing I needed to call Ann, my friend. She was the person I could always count on and right now, I really needed her.
• When the phone lit up, I felt a tiny bit of relief. I knew that I was not alone in this, even if only for a moment.
• With that small comfort, I turned to face the rest of the room. The sight of my belongings scattered around the room felt almost unreal, like remnants of a life that had become a stranger to me.
• I walked to the closet and pulled out a suitcase, the reality of leaving sinking in with every item I packed.
• My phone buzzed, breaking the calm of the room.. I pulled it up to saw a new message from Anna.
• "Hey girl! What's wrong with your phone?! Call me, it's important."
• I couldn't ignore her, not when my world was coming apart.
• I dialled her number, my heart racing as the phone began to ring.
• The phone rang once, twice, and then Anna's voice came through, loud and urgent.
• "Sam! Wtf is wrong with you? Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you! There's something important to talk about"
• "Ann..." I drifted off, unable to keep up with Anna's normal energy, my voice breaking with emotion.
• Anna's tone softened after a brief pause. "Sam, something's wrong. What is it?”
• I took a deep breath, holding back the tears that threatened to pour over. "Tyler... he... he wants a divorce.”
• Anna let out a gasp of amazement and shock.
• "What the hell?! Divorce?? No way, Sam, you can't be serious. Did something happen? You were just settling into married life. What changed?"
• Tears welled up in my eyes as I tried to digest the what just happened. "I thought we were happy, Anna. I thought…”
• Anna's voice was a calm, steady sound, stabilizing me in the tumult.
• "Sam, I have no idea what happened yeah?, but we will figure it out, okay? You are not alone. I am here for you, always. Where are you right now?"
• "I'm at the house," I replied, my gaze locked on the half-filled suitcase. "But I can't stay here, Anna. Not with Tyler."
• "Okay, then you're coming to my place," she responded, her voice hard and resolute. "I'm not letting you go through this alone.”
• I forced a feeble smile, appreciative for the strength in Anna's voice. "Thank you, Anna. "I will be there very soon, say in the next few hours," We said our byes and I hung up the phone.
• The only sound that broke the silence in the room was the sound of my movements.
• As I closed the suitcase, I glanced around one final time. It was a goodbye to the space, to the person I had once been, and to the life I had believed I led.
• After inhaling deeply and wiping the tear off my face, I picked up my bags.
• The sound of Tyler's voice seemed to echo as I made my way downstairs. "I miss you, Julie. When can you come over? I really need to see you."
• His words cut through me, a painful reminder of the betrayal happening right in front of me.
• So it's Julie. Tyler's new secretary. She was the reason my marriage was falling apart.
• My heart hurt, the pain sharp and deep. I pulled my bag towards the main door, past my unfaithful husband who stood indifferent.
• I rushed to my car, my fingers fumbling with the keys in my desire to flee this place of lies and betrayal.
• With a screech of tires, I sped off, my mind racing as quickly as the car.
• The tears poured freely now, blinding my vision as I relived every minute of Tyler's betrayal and Julie's deceit.
• The pain was a real thing. It was gripping my chest so tight that I could hardly breathe.
• I drove on autopilot.
• My thoughts were full of what I had gone through in the past hour.
• How had it come to this? How had my life unraveled so completely? I had married Tyler thinking it was a new beginning, but suddenly it seemed like the end.
• My mind kept returning to the positive pregnancy result, the small life growing inside me.
• What was I going to do?
• A distant part of me saw the red traffic light ahead, but my foot continued on the pedal, as if my consciousness had gone from reality.
• In a moment, a truck came from the corner. Its horn was loud, but it was too late to stop what was going to happen. I hit the brakes hard, and my tires screamed.
• But it was too late.
• The truck hit my car so hard. It sent it spinning out of control.
• My head smacked the driving wheel, and a stinging pain burst behind my eyes.. everything blurred.
• I battled to remain conscious, gasping for breath as the deep smell of burning tires and smoke filled my lungs.
• The pain was awful. It was like a sharp, horrible ache that went all through my body.
• I tried all I could to move, to escape the twisted metal enclosing me, but my limbs felt heavy, unresponsive.
• In the middle of the uncertainty, I clung to a single notion.. my baby. The life within me, the one thing left to fight for.
• But the pain was too much.
• My strength was fading away, and the pull of unconsciousness was too powerful to resist.
• Tears flowed down my cheeks as I uttered a silent apology to my unborn baby, a desperate hope that we would still have a shot.
• With one last, terrified breath, I let go, yielding to the darkness.
• The last thing I felt was the warmth of my tears on my cheeks, and then... nothing.