Chapter 5
When I finally arrived home, Cassius still hadn’t returned.
Out of habit, I opened my social media and there it was Maeve’s latest update.
[Received a confession from my beloved by the sea, romantic and everlasting!]
Cassius had chosen to watch the waves with Maeve instead of joining me on the mountain.
He wouldn’t fulfill his promise when we were twenty, yet he was more than willing to declare his love for her to the world.
A self–mocking smile tugged at my lips. Perhaps the exhaustion from the past few days had drained me completely.
As I descended the stairs, I accidentally missed a step.
In an instant, everything went black as I tumbled down.
A sharp pain coursed through my body and I felt a trickle of blood running down my forehead.
“Cassius, I mumbled, instinctively reaching out for the only person I considered family.
But when he picked up, his voice was hurried.
“Amara, I’m in the middle of an important meeting and can’t leave right now. Can we talk later?” He quickly hung up, leaving me in stunned silence.
I had just seen Maeve’s post, which clearly showed that Cassius was enjoying a movie with her. With a bitter laugh escaping my lips, I mustered my remaining strength to dial 911 for emergency services. When I woke again, I found myself lying in a hospital bed, wearing a blue and white striped gown. The doctor informed me that my fall had been serious and I would need to stay for observation for a couple of days.
While at the payment desk, I unexpectedly ran into Cassius and Maeve in the hospital.
He was tenderly comforting her, carefully feeding her some medicine.
“Maeve, don’t be afraid of the bitterness. You need to take this medicine to get over your cold,” he said softly.
So it was just a cold. Cassius didn’t seem to care that I had fallen down the stairs, yet he was going out of his way for Maeve’s minor illness.
I recalled how Cassius once told me he liked strong women. I had always tried to handle everything independently, but he gently coaxed Maeve here.
In the end, it all boiled down to the difference between love and indifference.
“Amara?!” Cassius finally noticed me, his hand trembling as he nearly spilled the medicine bowl. “Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting?” I asked, keeping my voice steady.
“I just finished. Maeve was sick, so I took her to the hospital. What are you doing here?” He countered, concern evident in his eves.
The nearby nurse informed him about my fall and his brow furrowed.
“Amara, are you okay? Did you hurt our baby?” he asked, his voice laced with worry.
The nurse looked puzzled. “Are you this lady s husband?”
“No, it’s fine. The baby is perfectly healthy,” I interrupted, calmly lying through my teeth.
Cassius sighed in relief, but then his gaze fell on the pitiful–looking Maeve beside him. “Well, if you‘ re alright, I’ll take Maeve home first. I’ll come back to take care of you afterward, okay?”
I forced a smile, hiding the storm of emotions brewing inside me. “Of course, that‘ s fine.”
“Cassius, you’ve just missed your last chance to know the truth,” I mumbled as I watched him eagerly help Maeve out of the hospital without glancing in my direction.
I waited in the hospital room until evening, but Cassius never returned.
As usual, I checked my social media and discovered that he had taken Maeve’s racing cars.
The images showed them speeding through the night. Cassius‘ s face lit up with joy and ease, oblivious to my existence.
At that moment, I felt numb, my heart empty. After paying my hospital bills, I knew it was time to go. Once I got home, I removed everything that reminded me of Cassius from the past ten years.
With each discarded item, I felt lighter, as if shedding a weight I had carried for too long. I deactivated all my social media accounts and changed my contact information, severing ties with the life I once
knew.
Finally, I double–checked the flight times, ensuring my escape was set. I left a divorce agreement on the coffee table, along with a collection of Maeve’s social media posts and the plane tickets Cassius had saved up over the past seven years.
Then, with a deep breath, I walked out of the door and left the city behind, ready to embrace a future free from the shadows of my past.
