The echoes of my own declaration, "You'll regret this more than anything," still rang in my ears as I left that hollow place. Bentley had chosen his path, and now I would choose mine. The first step was putting distance between us, a chasm so wide he could never cross it again. I needed to move fast. My scholarship to study art in Paris, once a distant dream, was now my life raft.
My body ached with every step, a map of all the harm I had endured. My head throbbed from the fall, my arm still bandaged from the stabbing, and my chest felt heavy with a grief that words couldn't touch. But beneath the pain, a fierce resolve burned.
The admissions office for the Paris scholarship program was thankfully efficient. I filled out forms with a hand that still trembled slightly, my face pale and drawn. The administrator, a kind-faced woman who reminded me faintly of my mother, looked at my bandaged arm with concern. "My dear, are you alright?" she asked, her voice soft. "You look as if you've been through a war."
Her words were a stark contrast to Bentley' s cold dismissal. A memory flashed of a time, years ago, when I' d gotten a paper cut while studying. Bentley had fussed over me for an hour, treating the tiny wound like a major injury, his eyes wide with worry. Now, after actual surgeries, after being stabbed, after my mother's death, he couldn't even pretend to care. The thought was a bitter pill.
I simply shook my head, avoiding her gaze. "I'm fine. Just... a rough patch. I just need to get these papers done." I focused on the task, pouring all my fractured energy into completing the paperwork. This was my escape.
She looked hesitant, then asked, "And your fiancé? Does he approve of you leaving the country for this opportunity?" The question hung in the air, thick with unspoken assumptions.
My mind drifted back to countless arguments, hushed and tense, about my career. "Paris? Adelle, that's so far. We're building a life here. My life. Our life." He hadn't wanted me to go, not really. He wanted me close, under his thumb, a beautiful accessory to his empire. He wanted me to be his talented artist, but only on his terms. He never saw my art as my own path, only as a hobby he could indulge me in.
I managed a tight smile. "He doesn't have a say anymore," I said, the words feeling like a balm on my wounded soul.
Just as I finished signing the last document, my old phone, the one I hadn't yet replaced, buzzed. A message from an unknown number. My stomach clenched. It was Frida.
The message contained a photo. It was Bentley, laughing, his arm draped possessively around Frida's shoulder. They were at some exclusive restaurant, their faces glowing with a sickening intimacy. The caption beneath it read: "He's all mine now, Adelle. Didn't you know? You're old news."
My breath caught in my throat. A wave of nausea washed over me, hot and suffocating. My hand flew to my chest, a desperate attempt to quell the rising panic. She knew. She knew I was here, trying to escape. She was twisting the knife, enjoying every second of my pain.
My eyes burned, but I refused to cry. Not for them. I looked at the timestamp on the photo. It was taken barely an hour ago, while I was dealing with the scholarship. She had orchestrated this, timed it perfectly to send it to me right when I was making my exit. Her malice was a tangible thing, a venom seeping into my already bruised heart.
I closed my eyes for a long moment, forcing myself to breathe. This is it, Adelle. This is what you're leaving behind. The anger, sharp and purifying, replaced the hurt. I knew what I needed to do. I knew what was truly important now. My future. My peace. And my mother's justice.
"Everything is in order, Adelle," the administrator said, handing me a thick envelope. "Your flight is booked for tomorrow morning. We've arranged everything."
"Thank you," I said, my voice steadier than I expected. My resolve had cemented into something hard and unyielding.
I returned to the empty house, the one Bentley and I had shared, the one that now felt like a tomb. The air still carried the faint scent of my mother's cooking, a cruel reminder. I remembered the small makeshift sterile room she'd had set up at the back of her food truck that Frida had destroyed. A constant reminder of the accident. It had already been torn down by Bentley's staff, leaving a gaping, desolate space. My heart constricted.
I found the housekeeper, Mrs. Green, a kind woman who had worked for Bentley's family for decades. "Mrs. Green," I said, my voice soft but firm. "I need to see the security footage from Mama's truck. From the day of the accident."
Her eyes widened, but she nodded slowly, her lips pressed into a thin line. She led me to a small office, the screen flickering to life. Time melted away as I watched the grainy footage. And there it was. Not just Frida's car speeding, not just her phone to her ear. But a split second before impact, she had swerved slightly, a deliberate, almost imperceptible movement, as if trying to catch the truck's corner, not avoid it. Her face, caught in the camera's wide-angle lens, held a fleeting, malicious smirk. It wasn't an accident. Not entirely. It was intentional.
My hand tightened around my phone. My whole body trembled with a cold, righteous fury. I discreetly recorded the relevant clips, my jaw clenched so tight it ached. This was her smug confession, preserved forever. This was my proof.
I walked back to my bedroom, the silence suffocating. My eyes landed on the countdown calendar, still hanging on the wall. Ninety-nine days. It mocked me, a monument to a love that had become a battlefield. I reached for it, my fingers brushing against the cardboard. With a decisive yank, I ripped it from the wall, the sound a sharp tear in the silence. It fell to the floor, a broken symbol of a broken promise. I stared at it for a moment, then, with a profound sense of finality, kicked it into the waste bin.
It was time to pack.
I pulled out my worn suitcase, the one I' d used for art school, and began to fold clothes, to separate my life into 'before Bentley' and 'after Bentley.' I was almost done when the door burst open.
"Adelle!" Bentley stood there, his eyes wide. He gestured to the crumpled calendar in the bin. "What's this? Did it fall?" He walked over, picking it up, his brow furrowed with concern, as if a piece of cardboard was the most pressing issue.
"No," I answered, my voice flat, devoid of emotion. "I threw it away."
His gaze sharpened, moving from the calendar to my open suitcase, then to the clothes neatly folded inside. "What are you doing?" he demanded, a note of rising panic in his voice. "Where are you going?"
I zipped up the suitcase with a sharp click. "I'm moving out, Bentley."
His eyes flashed, a storm gathering. "Moving out? What is this, Adelle? Another one of your dramatic stunts? Are you going to run back to that tiny apartment of yours and play the victim again?" He strode over, his hand sweeping across my neatly folded pile of clothes, sending them scattering across the floor. "This is childish! You're throwing a tantrum!"
I watched my clothes tumble, my carefully constructed order dissolving into chaos, much like my life had. A pang of something, not quite sadness, but a dull ache of memory, twisted in my gut. He never understood. He never saw my pain. He only saw inconvenience.
"I'm not throwing a tantrum, Bentley," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "I am leaving."
He scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "Fine! You want money? Is that it? How much? A new studio? A gallery show? Just name your price, Adelle. Don't be ridiculous." He pulled out his phone, ready to transfer funds, as if money could fix the gaping wound in my soul.
My jaw dropped. Was that truly all he thought I was worth? All our ten years, all my sacrifices, all my pain, reduced to a transaction? The absurdity of it made me want to scream, to laugh, to cry all at once.
He didn't wait for my answer. He grabbed my arm, his grip bruising. "Come on. You're exhausted. You're grieving. You're not thinking straight. Let's go. We'll talk about this when you're lucid." He began to pull me towards the door, his strength overwhelming. He wasn't asking. He was commanding. And in that moment, I knew I had to escape him, not just physically, but entirely.
