Chapter 1

Wendy's POV

6 years ago

There is little time. I have to do this now. I have to leave. I have to go with my Francisca and I'll finally be happy.

I'm packing my bag right now. I'll soon go to Francisca's room and pack hers. It's a good thing that Zach is on a business trip. He made things a lot easier for me.

I finish packing my bag, I don’t bring many things, just the essentials, and I head to Francisca's room. She's sleeping peacefully while I pack her bag.

I know that what I'm doing is right. It has to be. I'm not happy here and if I'm not happy then my kids won't be happy. Especially my girl. She's so small and fragile and innocent and if I'm gonna leave, it's not gonna be without her.

I've been miserable for years now with Zachary. We fight all the time. I can't remember the last time we had a proper conversation without one of us screaming at the other. So this is for the best. It has to be.

I head to Fran's bed to wake her up. "Hey baby," I say softly "it's time to wake up".

Francisca stirs. "Mommy?" She says. My 10-year-old looks around her room with an adorable sleepy expression. "What time is it?" She asks.

I sigh, "It's time to wake up sweetheart".

“But it's still dark, Mommy".

"I know sweetie, but I need you to wake up, we are leaving".

"Leaving?" She asks. "What? Why?".

"I'll explain later, but all you need to know right now is that we're going on a little trip".

I help Francisca get up from the bed and she eyes the suitcases. "Are we going for a long trip?" She asks.

I chuckle "Yes hun, a very long trip". I pick out her clothes and tell her to get ready quickly. She goes into the bathroom in her room and a few minutes later she comes out.

I grab her hand and head downstairs, careful not to make any sounds so I don't wake up the twins or any of the maids. I head to the door and just as I am about to open it, Francisca asks me "Mom? What about Ivan and Dan? Aren't you gonna wake them up?"

I look at Francisca and smile softly. "It's a girl's trip sweetheart, so it's just the two of us," I say.

"Really?" She asks.

"Yes," I answered.

"But I want to bring Dan and Ivan, Mommy please," she begins to whine, her voice starting to get louder.

"Francisca be quiet !" I whisper yell.

She does as I say. I sigh "Your brothers are going to be fine without us for a little while," I say. "They're big boys are they not?" I ask.

She nods. I smile at her and go to open the door when I hesitate.

Do I really want to do this? I was so sure I was making the right decision. My best friend assured and even encouraged me that I was making things better this way. I should not hesitate, my sons will be fine, Francisca will be fine, and I will be fine. Finally.

I open the door, surer of my decision than ever.

Fran and I walk for a few miles when we finally reach the bus station. I feel good. Well not good. Francisca has been whining about how tired she is of walking this whole time but I'm finally leaving California and taking a bus to a small town in Virginia called Ark Ville. I get on the bus with Fran and settle in.

This is just like Donna promised, we have been very careful in executing this plan so far, and it is working perfectly.

My husband - well ex-husband once he finds and signs the divorce papers I left him on our bed- is a powerful man. He is the CEO of Hill Corporation, so he might have a lot of resources to find us. However, I took my precautions. My family might be against this or they definitely will be, so I never really thought about asking them for help in doing this but I have some powerful friends too. My best friend Donna. She is the CEO of her design company and she has some powerful connections, and by powerful connections, I mean money, money that will allow me and my daughter to not be found by Zach. She assured me that he would never be able to find us if she had something to do with it.

I officially changed our last name last night from Hill to Griffin so that's good.

I don't want us to fight about the kids and their custody after the divorce, or even after the inevitable one that would have happened anyways if I stayed. Especially when I know that he will win in the end. Not just because of his money and influence but because of my mental health. I'm bipolar and because of that a lot of people in my life have underestimated me and thought that I wasn't as capable of doing certain things. I know Zach would mention something about me not taking meds regularly these days to win custody but I am not giving him the chance to do this to me. I'm taking Francisca and he keeps the boys, they need their father. I think this could be fair.

Of course, it sucks and I feel really bad about leaving Dan and Ivan behind but, I think this is for the best, they'll learn to live without me and without Fran. They don’t need us, they are closest to their father anyway. I can’t connect with them, Francisca is my little girl, and might as well be my only source of happiness in this life. No, I can’t let her go, can’t even imagine it.

They will be fine without me.

I know they will be.

They have to be.