I didn’t sleep that night.
The cramps were gone after the checkup, but the stress and pain inside me wouldn’t stop. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the envelope with Nick’s signature. I heard Helga’s voice. I saw my mother’s face at the dinner table, silent. Always silent.
Before sunrise, I was ready to go. I didn’t take much—just what I needed to live, not what reminded me of the life I was leaving. A suitcase for clothes. A small bag for documents. Helga stripped me of everything else she could, but she wouldn’t enter my child's life.
I didn’t say goodbye to my parents. They didn’t deserve my respect. When I stepped out, Shane was leaning against his car, arms crossed, eyes searching my face.
“You ready?” he asked quietly.
I nodded, even though my throat felt tight. He took the suitcase from me without another word and put it in the trunk.
The drive to the port was mostly silent, the hum of the engine filling the spaces where words couldn’t. Every now and then, I felt his gaze on me, like he wanted to say something but knew it would only make leaving harder.
When the coastline came into view, he finally spoke. “You don’t have to do this alone, Mia.”
“I have to.” I said, forcing a small smile.
At the port, the air was sharp with salt and sea spray. Shane carried my suitcase right to the boarding gate, refusing to leave until I was on the ramp.
I turned to him, my voice low. “Thank you. For not asking me to stay.”
His jaw tightened, but he only nodded. We hugged for a second before I climbed aboard.
The deck opened into a wide view of the city and the crowd below.
Then I saw Nick.
Shoving through bodies, scanning every face.
Phone pressed to his ear.
The screen in my hand lit up with his name. My throat tightened. Tears gathered, blurring the edges of my vision as I watched him from above. I read one message from him.
Nick: Don’t you dare leave me. We need to talk. It's about Helga…and the baby.
For a moment, I almost replied. Almost let him pull me back into the life I was finally breaking free from. But my body didn’t move.
He looked down at his phone, confusion and desperation twisting across his face. Then, as if sensing me, he looked up.
Our eyes locked.
He mouthed ‘I love you.’
My tears finally broke free like an open dam.
Then I pressed the block button and hurled the phone into the sea.
“Let's not meet each other again, Nick,” I whispered, choking into my tears as the ship began to sail away.
