Chapter Five

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.