I finally saw Daniel for who he truly was. Not a partner, not a protector, and not even a man who could offer basic decency. He was selfish, cruel, and small.
And I had been blind to it for far too long. When I walked back down the hall, I found Mom awake, sitting up with a worried expression. “Julia, is everything alright?” she asked.
He won’t hurt you again. He won’t even be here again.”
Her lip trembled, but she nodded, squeezing my fingers. “I never wanted to cause trouble between you two.”
“You didn’t,” I whispered.
“He showed me the truth. And now I know what I have to do.”
That night, after helping her into the guest room, I sat at the kitchen table and pulled out my laptop. My hands still shook, but this time it was from resolve, not fear.
I typed in the words I never thought I would need to search for. Divorce attorney near me. Filing for divorce wasn’t easy.
It meant confronting years of denial, unraveling a life I had built, and accepting that the man I thought I loved was never who I believed him to be. But once the papers were signed, I felt lighter, as though a chain around my chest had finally broken. Mom stayed with us through the rest of her treatment.
I watched her fight with quiet strength, and Sophie came home every weekend to be with her grandmother. Daniel tried to call a few times, but I never answered. There was nothing left to say.
