Chapter 7
1401 Words
The next morning, the world outside my window looked deceptively peaceful a quiet snowfall, soft and slow, like the mountain itself was holding its breath. But inside me, everything was chaos.
Ezra had fallen asleep on the small couch across from me, his arm draped over the side, hair tousled from the long night. I hadn’t slept at all. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard their voices again Ken’s low whisper, Helen’s laugh, Karl’s little giggle caught somewhere in between.
By the time the first light touched the cabin walls, I already knew what I had to do.
The camera bag sat by the door, and the truth sat in my hands. It was over.
Ezra stirred when I stood up. “You didn’t sleep,” he said softly.
“I didn’t need to,” I murmured. “I finally know what I’m going to do.”
He sat forward, studying me with that quiet steadiness of his. “You’ve got everything you need now. So what’s next?”
I took a breath that trembled on the way out. “I’m ending it tonight.”
He didn’t argue. Didn’t tell me to calm down or think twice. He just nodded once, calm and certain. “Then I’ll be there.”
There was something in his voice I couldn’t name a promise, maybe. One I didn’t ask for, but needed more than I wanted to admit.
The day dragged on endlessly. I couldn’t eat. Couldn’t sit still. Ken had texted me in the morning:
Karl wants to go skiing with Helen again. You should rest.
Rest.
Like I was a stranger tagging along for the ride.
By the time night came, the sky had turned deep violet, the color of endings. Ezra stood near the mirror, adjusting his black coat. His calm made me want to scream and cling to him at the same time.
“You ready?” he asked.
I stared at my reflection. The woman looking back wasn’t the one who’d begged for attention, who’d cried herself to sleep for years. Her eyes were tired, yes but fierce.
“Yes,” I said quietly. “I’m ready.”
The restaurant was warm and softly lit, filled with laughter that didn’t belong to me. Ken sat across from Helen, Karl between them, all smiles and inside jokes. For a second, my heart faltered. Karl looked happy. He looked like he belonged there.
Ezra’s fingers brushed mine a light, grounding touch. “Breathe,” he murmured.
I did. Then I walked forward, each step echoing through the room like a countdown.
Ken’s head lifted when he saw me. Surprise flickered across his face, then irritation. “Liora? What are you doing here?”
“Finishing what you started.”
I pulled a thick envelope from my bag and placed it in front of him. “Sign it.”
He frowned, confused. “What is this?”
“Divorce papers.”
Helen stiffened beside him, her painted smile faltering. Karl blinked up at me, puzzled.
Ken let out a small laugh. “You’re not serious.”
“I’m done,” I said simply.
His smirk faded when I pulled out my phone and pressed play. The air filled with whispers his voice, Helen’s breathless laugh proof of everything I’d tried to deny. Conversations stopped. Heads turned.
Helen went pale. Ken’s jaw clenched, eyes flicking around the room.
“Sign it,” I said again, quieter now. “Or I make sure the whole world hears this.”
Ken’s hands shook as he grabbed a pen. The sound of it scratching the paper was the sound of something breaking free inside me.
When he pushed the papers toward me, I felt the tears sting behind my eyes not from sadness, but from finality.
Then I looked at Karl. My son. My world.
“Come on, sweetheart,” I said softly, crouching beside him. “We’re going home.”
He blinked up at me. “I don’t want to.”
The words hit me like ice water. “What?”
“I want to stay here. Daddy said we’ll go skiing tomorrow, and Aunt Helen said she’ll make pancakes.”
My chest tightened painfully. “We can do that too, Karl. Just you and me. We’ll go anywhere you want, okay? We’ll make new memories.”
He shook his head stubbornly. “You’re always sad, Mommy. You don’t like playing. You get mad when I make a mess.”
The floor swayed beneath me. “Karl baby, that’s not true. I know I wasn’t always patient. I know I wasn’t the mom you deserved. But you are my heart. You hear me? My heart. I don’t want to leave without you.”
Tears blurred everything. I reached for his hand, but he pulled away.
Ken’s voice cut through the moment, cold and triumphant. “He wants to stay here. Don’t make a scene.”
I turned to him, shaking. “You’ve poisoned him against me.”
“I didn’t have to,” he said smoothly. “You did that on your own.”
My breath came in shallow bursts. “Don’t say that.”
But Karl’s small, trembling voice broke through everything. “Please, Mommy. Don’t fight anymore. I just want things to stay like this.”
A soft sound escaped me not quite a sob, not quite a breath. “Karl, please,” I whispered. “I don’t care if everyone else leaves me. But not you. Don’t do this. You’re all I have.”
He looked at me, eyes full of confusion, then turned toward his father. “I want to stay.”
Something inside me shattered. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.
Ezra was beside me now, his hand steady on my shoulder. “Liora,” he murmured. “Let’s go.”
I shook my head violently. “No. He’s my son.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “But you can’t save him from this tonight.”
I turned back to Karl, desperate. “Sweetheart, this is your choice. If you want to come with me, I’ll take care of you. I promise. But if you stay…” My voice broke. “Then I won’t be here tomorrow.”
Karl hesitated for a heartbeat. Then he reached for Ken’s hand.
I froze. The air left my lungs.
“Then stay,” I whispered. “If that’s what you want.”
My vision blurred completely now. I picked up my bag, forcing my shaking legs to move. “You’ve both taken everything,” I told Ken and Helen, my voice hollow. “I hope it was worth it.”
Then I turned and walked out before my knees gave way.
The cold night slapped me as soon as I stepped outside. Snow drifted down, silent and cruel. My body trembled so hard I could barely stand.
Ezra followed, his voice soft. “Liora.”
I turned toward him, tears spilling down my face. “He hates me,” I choked out. “My own son hates me.”
He stepped closer, his hand gentle at the back of my neck. “No. He’s confused. He’s a child being taught the wrong kind of love.”
“I begged him,” I whispered. “Ezra, I begged my own child to love me.”
He didn’t try to quiet me. He just pulled me against his chest and let me fall apart. My sobs shook both of us, raw and broken.
“I could live without Ken,” I whispered between gasps. “I could survive losing everything. But not him. Not Karl.”
Ezra held me tighter, his voice barely audible against the falling snow. “One day, he’ll know what you gave up for him. And when that day comes, he’ll come back.”
I shook my head, tears freezing on my lashes. “It doesn’t feel like it.”
He looked down at me, eyes dark with something that wasn’t pity something stronger, steadier. “You still have yourself,” he said softly. “You still have the truth.”
I took a shaky breath, the cold burning my lungs. “Then why does it feel like I left my heart behind?”
Ezra didn’t answer. He just held me, and for the first time in years, I cried until there was nothing left to break.
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