Betrayed, but New Love Found

A Shocking Surprise

Holly

There was a pen on the table. She picked it up and signed. She took her phone and took a picture of the document for her records. He reached into his suit pocket and held out a cashier's check to her. She didn’t want to take it. But she needed it. It will be the only thing she takes from him. He owed her for the hand to her face, that still throbbed. She snatched it out of his hand and he scoffed. She walked to the door and picked up her bags. When she opened the door she paused. Turning her head to the side but with her back still towards him, she uttered the words that will haunt him one day.

“Your card is on the dresser in the bedroom. You’re going to regret this, and it will be too late for us.”

“I won’t. I should have listened to my mother. You were never good enough for me and my family. My mother was right, a gold digger is worse than cheating. I could have evened the score there.”

Her heart shattered at his words. She turned her head and walked out the door. She wasn’t going to take her car, it was a gift from him. She walked down the street. She saw neighbors who started to wave, but seeing her with a suitcase and her equipment bag they stopped mid-wave. She just kept walking letting the tears silently fall. When she had walked three blocks, she took out her phone. She would have to get a new one. She ordered an Uber. Thank God there was one five minutes away.

When it pulled up, she sat back and relaxed after she put her bags in his trunk. She had picked the first hotel that had come up in her search. When they pulled up, she numbly got out and got her bags.

She walked into the lobby and a perky woman smiled at her.

“Hi, welcome to The Hampton, are you checking in?”

“I need a room for at least two nights,” she said, in a hoarse voice. The woman nodded.

“I have a king or two queens, both are non-smoking.”

“I’ll take the king.” Holly gave her her information and card. The woman gave her a key, and a run-down of the amenities.

When she got to her room and looked out. She gave a humorless laugh. She had picked the hotel that was across from the mall. Perfect. The first thing she did was grab her purse and walked across the street. She entered the mall and went straight to the Verizon store. She got a new phone with a new number. When she left, she grabbed a steak sandwich, fries and a drink from Charley’s and went back to her room.

She ate and tried to think of a plan. She needed a place to stay. She couldn’t stay in this hotel, it would burn through what money she had. She needed to go to the bank and deposit the twenty thousand. After buying the phone and paying for the hotel and once she deposited the check, she’d have twenty-six thousand dollars to her name. She could make money. She would just buy some paint supplies and paint some landscapes and sell them for cheap at the local art places that bought pictures for cheap to sell. She would have to put out a release on her page. She wouldn’t hide anything from her followers. They would need to know what was going on. She felt they had a right to know why there would be no cooking or crafting videos for a while. They paid for her services.

Holly got her laptop out and did just that. She hooked up her camera. She made sure she looked presentable, that her eyes weren’t super puffy and that she didn’t look blotchy from all her crying. She pushed the record button and explained to her viewers that she was going through a sudden divorce at no fault of her own. That she needed some time to heal and find a safe place to live. That she will keep them updated on this new adventure in her life. She waved at the camera and stopped recording. She didn’t edit the video because there really wasn’t much to edit. She posted it to her VidTube, and then she went to her Holly Homemaker page and posted the video there too.

In five minutes, there was an instant outpour of support. She was grateful for her followers and subscribers.

She took a shower and put on a long T-shirt and a clean pair of underwear.

She was trying to think what she was going to do when her eyes landed on the package in her suitcase.

She scrambled over to it and grabbed it. She ripped off the bow and opened the box. Holly gaped at the twenty thousand dollar check on top of a thick document and a set of keys. There was also a letter. She picked it up and tears came to her eyes.

My dearest Holly,

If you’re reading this, I am gone. I want you to know that from the moment I met you, I knew you were special. You’re the granddaughter I never had. After I lost my family years ago, I vowed to never get close to anyone again. But then there you were looking sad and pitiful and something told me to stop and take care of you.

Your companionship and love over the years have been the best years of my long life. I hope you find happiness with that husband of yours. But if you don’t, I hope this helps. The house was mine and my husband's before he and our daughter died. I never told you about the house. I hope it isn’t too run down. I did hire someone when I moved from Montana to keep an eye on it, but I haven’t heard much from them over the years. I just never cared to check. The money is all I have left after I retired and lived off my pension. The documents are my will, leaving you the house and land deeds. There are fifty acres to do with whatever you want. It’s all paid off. You don’t even need to worry about property taxes for at least twenty years. There’s a yearly payment already set in place. Live well my beautiful girl. I love you, know that you were loved all these years.

Emma Jean Robertson

Tears fell from Holly’s eyes. Emma Jean was still taking care of her even from the grave.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

She was exhausted and went to bed early. She tried to sleep, but her mind was buzzing with all she had to do. She would go to the courthouse, change her name back to her maiden name, and get her new ID. She would purchase a used car tomorrow after putting both checks into her bank account and change her name on the account to her maiden name. Then she would go back to the hotel, stay her second night and then drive from Texas all the way to Montana. She decided to vlog her trip too. She wanted to keep her followers and subscribers in the loop.

She finally fell asleep around midnight. When her alarm went off at eight a.m. she grabbed her new phone and turned it off. She lay there recalling everything that had happened yesterday. Her emotions were all over the place. She was still devastated by Kyle. She touched her cheek and winced. She really hoped there wasn’t a bruise. She was nervous about how the day would go. She really hoped everything went smoothly.

After doing her business in the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and braided her long auburn hair. There was the smallest bruise on her cheek, but it wasn’t too noticeable. She put on a white sweater with black leggings and her tennis shoes. She grabbed her purse and made sure the checks were in there. She picked up her new phone and made sure she had the picture she took with her old phone that showed her divorce document. All the other pictures she scrubbed from the old phone before giving it to the sales clerk.

She ordered an Uber, went to the courthouse, got her name changed and a new ID. She did what she needed to do at the bank next and then, lastly, another Uber dropped her off at a car dealership.

The salesman was a tall portly man with thinning hair on top of his round head, but he had a nice smile, and he was very helpful when she told him what she wanted. He took her over to the used trucks on the lot. He said he would personally go with the green Dodge Ram if she was going to be towing anything or putting large loads of wood or hay in the bed of the truck. He said he personally owned a Dodge Ram, and he found it reliable.

Even used, the truck was still pricey. But she put ten thousand down with a cashier's check. She got financing quickly, which surprised her, but Tom, the salesman, just winked at her.

“I have a friend. She helps me out every now and then. Your payment is going to be a little much at four-eighty a month for the next five years. You can pay it off anytime after six months.”

Holly nodded. She thanked Tom and got the keys to her new truck. Well, at least it was new to her. This was the first time she purchased something so big on her own. She felt really proud of herself. Her first instinct was to call Kyle and tell him about it, but then she froze when she grabbed her phone. She closed her eyes as she felt her heart plummet and tears come to them. She took a deep breath, pushed the start button and pulled out of the car lot.

She was going to go back to the hotel but decided to take herself out to dinner. She went to Sage’s Steakhouse. It was one of her favorite places. She had just ordered her drink when the most annoying voice reached her ears.

“You have the nerve to show your face after what you did to my brother,” Amber scathingly said.

Holly looked up and saw Amber was there with a date. She didn’t recognize the man, and he gave her a small smile. She smiled back.

“Look at you smiling at my date, like the sl*t you are.”

“I was only being polite Amber. I didn’t do anything to your brother.”

“You cheated on him, that means you did do something. He told our family last night. He was devastated. But mom and I consoled him.”

“What about your father?” she asked. She couldn’t help it. Larry had always been nice to her. Even if he didn’t ever correct his wife’s behavior towards her or his daughter’s cutting remarks. He never said anything rude to Holly.

She scoffed. “He refuses to believe it. He even stood up for you. Saying you weren’t that type of person, but mother, and I know you are and reassured Kyle he did the right thing.”

“I never cheated on your brother, Amber. He made a mistake. Someone is framing me.”

“Yeah right. If he ever shows me the pictures he says he has, I’ll prove it was you. I know people. I have friends that can tell me if a picture is fake or not.”

“Can you just leave me alone? I just want to eat.”

“Come on Amber, let’s go and enjoy our date,” the guy next to her said. Holly gave him a grateful smile.

“Keep your smiles to yourself wh*re. You’re lucky I’m on a date, or I’d drag you out of here.”

Holly watched them walk away with a relieved sigh. She couldn’t wait to get out of town so she’d never have to go through that again.