Chapter 8
Chapter 8
The two men laughed and got into the car.
Yvonne stayed at home and carefully packed her things. Then she called her best friend, Courtney Jones. “I’m sending my stuff today. Can you sign for it when it gets there?”
“Yeah. Yvonne, it’s great that you’re finally leaving the Chapin family,” Courtney said.
Yvonne stood by the window, looking at the garden where the neglected flowers were wilting. Her eyes were filled with determination. Those once lively flowers were now lifeless, just like her marriage.
“Yeah, three years of waiting just for this moment,” she said.
Courtney sighed, “I never thought it would come to this for you two. It’s enough to make anyone doubt love. But that’s not what I meant, Yvonne. Are you sure you really want to leave Avaloria?”
Yvonne shifted her gaze to the distance. “Yep. When the Chapin family moved to Avaloria, I didn’t have a choice. Now that I do, I won’t stay any longer.”
“I have a feeling Steven won’t agree to this divorce,” Courtney said.
Yvonne smiled slightly. “I’ve been patient until now. It’s not about what he wants anymore.”
“No matter what, Yvonne, I hope you quickly get out of this tough spot and start fresh.”
Alright, I’ll come find you when I’m done here.”
“Okay, I’ll introduce you to some fresh faces then.”
Yvonne hung up with a smile. She carried the clipped photos to the trash bin just as the garbage truck arrived and, without hesitation, dumped them all in.
As the truck slowly drove away, Yvonne almost saw the boy from her memories, wiping blood from his forehead and smiling as he waved goodbye to her.
On that quiet afternoon, Yvonne took a deep breath, leaving behind any hesitation and doubt, and turned to walk away.
In the evening, Yvonne got up?”
call from Steven. His voice was slurred with drunkenness. “Honey, I’ve had too much to drink. Can you come pick me
The business partners had been particularly enthusiastic, pouring him plenty of drinks. His assistant happened to be on leave, so he thought of asking Yvonne to pick him up.
Yvonne paused for a moment before she spoke slowly, “Come back on your own, Steven. We need to have a serious talk.”
“Talk about what?” he asked.
“About our marriage,” she replied.
There was a sudden silence on the other end, with only faint background noise, and then Steven’s breathing got heavier. “Honey, I just remembered I have something to do tonight, so I won’t be back.” He quickly hung up before Yvonne could reply.
Yvonne let out a cold laugh, tossed her phone onto the bed, and lay down with her eyes closed. After a while, she got up to take a shower.
After her shower, there wasja missed call from an unknown number. Yvonne paused, remembering it must have been Reid. She deleted and blocked the number, and then sat at her vanity to blow–dry her hair.
The phone rang again from another unknown number. Yvonne hesitated but picked up just before it stopped ringing. “Hello.”
Reid’s voice came through. “Didn’t feel like answering my call?”
“Could you stop calling?” she asked.
“Let’s talk about it after tonight. Where are you?”
“I’m not home. I-” Before she could finish, the doorbell rang both downstairs and on the phone.
Reid’s cool voice came through the phone. “Well, that’s really strange. I see someone in your bedroom from downstairs–uh, maybe it’s not a human.”
Yvonne hung up and muttered in her mind, ‘You’re the one who’s not human.
