Chapter 5: Finding Freedom
1555 Words
“Did he even try to explain himself?” the lawyer’s assistant whispered, leaning close as she handed me a tissue. “I mean... after what he did?”
I wiped my tears quickly, feeling embarrassed to be crying in front of someone I barely knew. “He said it was a mistake,” I whispered back, my voice weak. “Just one stupid mistake.”
“They always say that,” she said with a sigh. “My ex said the same thing after I caught him with my best friend.”
The main door opened before I could respond. We both sat up straight. The lawyer walked in holding a folder. His face didn’t show anything. He looked like someone who had seen the end of love too many times to care anymore.
The room felt cold. Maybe they kept the AC this strong on purpose. It made everything feel distant, less personal. I sat at the polished table, staring at the papers that would officially end my three-year marriage.
My hands shook as I picked up the pen. The only sound in the room was the soft scratch of ink as I signed my name.
Aria Nora Hayes.
Across from me, Zane stayed quiet. He didn’t look at me. His hands were folded, and his eyes stayed down. His suit looked wrinkled like he had slept in it, and his hair was messy, like he’d run his hands through it too many times.
I thought I saw his jaw clench for a second. A small part of me held on to that. Maybe he would say something. Maybe he would stop me. Maybe he would fight for us.
But he didn’t.
After a long silence, he reached for the pen and signed.
Miles Zane Hayes.
CEO of Skythrive Enterprises. The man I used to picture forever with. The man who shattered it all in a hotel room with his secretary.
“I’ll file these today,” the lawyer said, stacking the papers neatly.
Zane stood up fast. His chair made a loud scraping noise. I flinched. He looked at me, like he wanted to speak, but then he shook his head. And walked out. The door closed quietly behind him.
That soft click hit harder than every fight we ever had.
I sat in my car for a long time, staring through the windshield. I didn’t cry. I just felt... empty. What now? Where would I go? I couldn’t stay with friends. Most of them were really Zane’s friends anyway. And I wasn’t ready to face my parents, but I knew I had to. Eventually.
---
My parents’ house looked perfect when I pulled up. White pillars gleamed in the sunlight. The hedges were trimmed just right, not a single leaf out of place. From the outside, it looked like nothing bad ever happened here.
But the divorce papers in my hand told a different story. I held them so tight the corners cut into my skin.
Marta opened the door. She gave me a small smile, but her eyes were full of worry.
“They’re inside,” she said softly, stepping back to let me in.
“Mom? Dad?” I called. My voice bounced off the marble floor and echoed through the hallway. It made the house feel even colder.
They were in the study, sitting on that stiff couch they only used when guests came over. My mom’s face turned hard the second she saw me.
“Aria,” she snapped, holding up her phone. “What is this?”
I looked at the screen. A headline stared back at me.
CEO Zane Hayes and Wife Split After Three Years.
So the news was already out. Great.
“I filed for divorce,” I said. My voice was calm, but my chest felt tight. “It’s done.”
My dad stood up. The light from the chandelier caught in his silver hair.
“Without talking to us first?” he asked. His voice was sharp. “Do you understand what this means for Zephyra Textiles? Investors are already calling. Zane’s company is one of our biggest partners. This isn’t just about you, Aria.”
My mom stood too. Her heels clicked on the floor as she crossed her arms.
“This makes us look like fools,” she said. “People will think we raised a quitter.”
I laughed a little. Not because it was funny. It was the kind of laugh that came out when you were too angry to cry.
“A quitter? He cheated on me. I caught him. With his secretary.”
My mom’s face turned pale. But she didn’t look away.
“Marriage has its ups and downs,” she said. “You don’t make it a big deal. You don’t let the world see. You keep it private and fix it quietly.”
My throat tightened, but I kept my face still.
“You care more about your image than your daughter.”
My dad stepped closer. His eyes were sharp and cold.
“We care about your future,” he said. “Zane gave you everything. A stable life. A name. A home. And you threw it all away because of one mistake.”
That word hit me hard. Mistake. That’s what they were calling it now. Him lying to me. Sleeping with someone else. Breaking everything we had. Just a mistake.
I turned around. I couldn’t stay in that room a second longer. But then my mom grabbed my arm.
“Where do you think you’re going? You have nothing without us.”
I pulled away.
“Then I’ll have nothing.”
---
I drove for hours without knowing where I’d end up. The car was packed with my clothes, old photo albums, and twenty thousand dollars I’d saved over the years. I used to keep that money in a shoebox under my bed. Now it was stuffed inside a grocery bag on the passenger seat.
In the rearview mirror, New York faded into the distance. The skyline turned into nothing but gray lines on the horizon.
It started to rain when I hit Hudson Valley. Heavy, messy rain. It pounded against the windshield so hard, I could barely see. The wipers squeaked with every pass, keeping rhythm with my breathing, which had turned unsteady without me realizing.
Then I saw it.
A three-story house made of gray stone, covered in ivy. Some of the windows were cracked. The front porch leaned like it had given up holding itself together. It looked tired. Maybe even forgotten.
But it was mine.
Last night I couldn’t sleep. I ended up scrolling through real estate listings in bed, just trying to feel something. That’s when I saw it. A huge old house, listed for only a hundred thousand dollars. My hands shook as I clicked through the pictures. I didn’t even think. I just typed in my card information and pressed purchase.
Now I was here.
My phone buzzed in the cupholder. “You have arrived at your destination,” the GPS said in that flat, robotic voice.
I pulled into the gravel driveway and turned off the engine. The house stared back at me through the rain. It didn’t look welcoming. But somehow, I felt like I belonged here.
I thought about the phone call with the real estate agent.
“Wait. You’re serious? It’s really just a hundred grand?” I had asked.
“Yes,” she said. “It’s been listed for years. There’s... some history.”
“What kind of history?”
“The last family left suddenly. People in town say the house is... haunted.”
I had laughed. “Ghost stories don’t scare me.”
But now, standing in front of it, I wasn’t so sure. The air felt heavy. Like something was pressing down on my chest. Still, I wasn’t afraid.
I grabbed my bags and walked up the porch steps. Each one creaked like it was warning me to turn around. The key slid into the lock without trouble. The door opened with a soft groan, and a thick smell hit me. Dust. Damp wood. Maybe something else I couldn’t name.
The house was quiet. Too quiet. My footsteps echoed as I walked through the rooms, pulling old sheets off the furniture. The fabric made a hissing sound as it dropped to the floor, like it didn’t want to be touched.
“Home sweet home,” I whispered.
I started unpacking, but my mind kept wandering. I could still see the lawyer’s office. The way Zane held the pen and signed the divorce papers. The look on my mom and dad’s faces, cold, disappointed.
I let out a breath and shook my head. Thinking about it wouldn’t help.
This was supposed to be a fresh start.
No more Zane. No more parents who cared more about appearances than their daughter. No more being what everyone else needed me to be.
It was just me now. Me, this house, and whatever was waiting ahead.
The sun was going down. Shadows stretched across the room. The floor creaked under my feet, like the house was alive.
Maybe it did have ghosts. Maybe the rumors were true.
But after everything I’d been through?
Ghosts didn’t scare me anymore.
- Writer
