“Hello, this is Amara speaking. I want to proceed with filing for a divorce.”
The silence on the other end stretched, heavy and uncomfortable, the kind that makes your chest tighten even when your decision is already carved in stone.
“Ms. Amara,” the lawyer finally replied, his tone measured, hesitant. “I need to be clear with you. If you legally separate from Mr. Aldrin, you walk away with nothing. The house will remain his. The company shares stay with him. Even the vehicles under his name—you won’t be entitled to any of it.”
I shut my eyes and let his words settle. Nothing.
Strangely, it no longer frightened me.
What was there left to lose, anyway? Not after the man who promised to protect me became the one who ordered my pain. Not after he stood by while I was broken and called it discipline. Not after he refused to save the very child we created together.
“That’s fine,” I replied calmly, even as my heart thundered against my ribs. “I don’t want anything from him. Send the papers tomorrow—on our wedding anniversary. Let it be my present to him.”
Before he could say another word, I ended the call.
My hands were still shaking when I dialed Joseph’s number. He picked up immediately, his voice brisk and alert.
“I need to know,” I said, swallowing hard. “Where’s Sienna? Is she truly safe?”
There was movement on his end, then his voice softened. “Talk to her.”
A second later, the sound I’d been aching for filled my ears.
“Mommy?” Sienna’s tiny voice trembled, soft and unsure, like she was afraid I might disappear again.
Tears blurred my vision instantly. “Baby… Mommy’s here. Are you hurt? Did anyone scare you?”
“I’m scared,” she whispered. “Why can’t I come home? Why aren’t you with me?”
I pressed my lips together, fighting to keep my voice steady. “Because Mommy is fixing something important, sweetheart. But I promise—very soon, we’ll be together again. You just have to be brave for a little while longer, okay?”
“Promise?” she asked, her voice cracking.
“I swear it,” I said softly. “Mommy will never leave you. Just wait for me.”
“I love you, Mommy.”
My chest broke open. “I love you too, Sienna. More than anything in this world.”
The call went quiet, and then Joseph came back on the line. “You heard her. Satisfied now?”
I let out a shaky breath. “Thank you. I just needed to know she was real… that she was okay.”
“Good,” he replied. “Then don’t forget our agreement. Tomorrow. Be ready.”
“I will,” I whispered, ending the call and pressing the phone against my chest like it was my last lifeline.
But the peace didn’t last.
A voice behind me sliced through the air. “Who were you talking to just now?”
I turned sharply.
Aldrin stood in the doorway, his eyes sharp, suspicious, already accusing.
I forced my lips into a smile. “I’m making funeral arrangements for Sienna. Since you won’t help me, I figured this is how it ends.”
His jaw tightened. “So that’s it? You’re giving up on her instead of begging me?”
My breath came uneven. “You want me to beg? For our daughter?”
“Yes,” he said coldly, stepping closer. “If this isn’t one of your tricks, then prove it. Kneel. Kiss my shoes if you have to. Show me you’re innocent.”
A bitter laugh escaped my throat. “No. I’m done humiliating myself for you.”
I brushed past him, but his voice boomed behind me. “You’re walking away from me now?”
“Yes,” I answered without turning back. “Because you don’t deserve to be Sienna’s father.”
His mouth curved into something ugly. “Suit yourself. At least she won’t inherit anything. And you—” his eyes dragged over me with venom “—you won’t give me another child anyway. After Sienna, you’re barren. So really, this is your loss. You’re nothing to me now.”
The words cut deep, but I lifted my chin. “Then you won’t miss me when I’m gone.”
Before he could say more, Bianca’s shrill scream echoed from the hallway.
“Aldrin! Please—my stomach hurts! Take me to the hospital!”
His attention snapped to her instantly, panic flooding his face. “If you leave this house, Amara,” he warned over his shoulder, “your punishment will be worse. Make sure everything is ready by tomorrow. Important investors are coming. Don’t disappoint me again.”
I smiled tightly. “Of course.”
He rushed away with Bianca clinging to him, leaving me alone among the wreckage of a marriage that had long since died.
But I didn’t prepare for his investors.
Instead, I canceled every supplier. I walked into his office, copied his presentation onto a flash drive, and erased the original from his laptop. If Aldrin wanted chaos, I would make sure he drowned in it.
By sunrise, I was gone.
Joseph’s black car arrived at dawn. He stepped out, smug and confident, like a man who already knew the ending. “Ready to leave?”
I nodded, gripping my bag tightly.
The moment I stepped onto the private plane, my legs gave out.
Sienna was there.
“Mommy!” she cried, running straight into my arms.
I collapsed onto the floor with her, holding her as tightly as I dared, tears soaking into her hair. “You’re safe… Mommy’s got you. You’re safe now.”
Behind us, Joseph’s voice carried, amused and triumphant. “Welcome back to me, Amara. Just remember—freedom always has a cost.”
For once, I didn’t care.
Sienna was with me. That was all that mattered.
Before the plane took off, I pulled out my phone and stared at it for a long moment. Then I removed the SIM card, my hands trembling, and flung it out of the open window just before the engines roared to life.
