TheRoadAway
1474 Words
Selvina’s POV
The cold night air hit my face the moment I stepped outside the gates of Garrett Mansion.
I tightened my grip on the small suitcase in my hand and stood there for a few seconds, staring at the towering iron gates that had once welcomed me home. Just minutes ago, I had walked out of that house as Mrs. Garrett.
Now, I was nothing more than a stranger. Hmmmm, irony of life.
The security guards exchanged uneasy glances but said nothing. They had watched me arrive as a bride six years ago, and now they watched me leave with only a suitcase and the clothes on my back. Neither of us knew what to say.
A pair of headlights swept across the driveway behind me.
I heard hurried footsteps.
“Selvina!”
I closed my eyes for a brief moment.
A part of me knew he would come. But to do or say what exactly? I mean, he signed the papers without a second thought.
I turned around slowly.
Dylan stopped a few feet away, breathing harder than usual. His suit jacket was unbuttoned, and his tie hung loosely around his neck as though he had rushed out without thinking. His eyes settled on the suitcase.
“So… you’re really leaving.”
A bitter smile tugged at my lips. Is he high again? I mean, that should be his only excuse because why did he just say that? Am I supposed to remain in that house?
“You signed the divorce papers, Dylan. Where exactly do you expect me to stay?”
His expression tightened.
“I know.”
“No.” I shook my head. “You don’t.” Seems you’ve lost your mind, and that’s your business.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. The silence between us felt heavier than every argument we’d had inside the mansion.
Finally, he took a cautious step forward.
“I never imagined it would end like this.”
I laughed quietly.
“Neither did I.”
He took another step.
“Please… don’t leave like this.”
I looked at him in disbelief.
“Like this?” I repeated. “How else should I leave? Should I stay inside and congratulate you? Should I help your mother prepare the guest room for Vanessa?”
His face drained of color.
“That’s not fair.”
“Fair?”
I let out another laugh, this one louder.
“You signed the papers.”
“I signed because—”
“Because you already made your choice.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. For the first time in six years, Dylan Garrett had no answer.
I nodded slowly.
“I asked you one question upstairs.”
His eyes met mine.
“I asked if you would choose us.”
He lowered his gaze.
“I told you… if that child is mine, I have responsibilities.”
“There.”
I pointed at him. “That’s your answer.”
His shoulders slumped.
“I never stopped loving you.”
“Love without loyalty is meaningless.”
The words landed harder than I expected.
He stared at me as though they had struck him across the face.
A black taxi turned into the driveway and stopped beside the curb.
The driver stepped out to load my suitcase into the trunk.
Dylan watched in silence while reaching into his pocket and pulling out something small.
My wedding ring.
“I forgot to give this back.”
He stretched out his hand.
I looked at the ring for several long seconds before closing his fingers around it.
“No.”
His brows knitted together.
“You keep it. Let it remind you that once upon a time, there was someone who loved you enough to choose you every single day.”
My voice trembled despite my efforts to stay composed.
“I hope she’s worth it.”
Without waiting for a response, I opened the taxi door and climbed inside.
The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror.
“Where to, ma’am?”
For a moment, my mind went blank as I was engrossed in deep thought.
“Just keep moving,” I said.
The taxi pulled away, and I didn’t look back.
The taxi pulled away from Garrett Mansion, and I sat quietly in the back seat, staring out of the window without really seeing anything.
The city lights rushed past one after another, but they meant nothing to me.
All I could hear was Dylan’s voice.
“If Vanessa is carrying my child… then I have a responsibility to her and the baby.”
I closed my eyes, hoping the words would disappear.
They didn’t. Instead, they replayed over and over until my chest felt so tight I could barely breathe.
I looked down at my left hand.
The finger that had carried my wedding ring for six years now felt strangely bare. I rubbed it absentmindedly, almost expecting the ring to still be there.
It wasn’t.
A lump formed in my throat.
Six years… Six years of loving one man and believing we would grow old together. Six years of dreaming about children who would never carry our names. In the end, all it took was one signature to erase everything.
I let out a bitter laugh and quickly wiped away another tear before the driver noticed.
“Are you alright, ma’am?” he asked gently, glancing at me through the rearview mirror.
I forced a smile that even I didn’t believe.
“I’ll be fine.”
He nodded without asking another question.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Only when we reached the next intersection did I realize something.
“Where exactly should I go? Everything happened so fast and unexpectedly; I didn’t have time to think about where I was going.”
The mansion was no longer my home.
The apartment I’d lived in before marrying Dylan had been sold years ago.
Even if I wanted to disappear, I didn’t know where to begin.
Then one face came to mind.
Uncle Obed.
He was the only family I had left. Ever since my mother died, he had been the one constant in my life. He took me in without hesitation, raised me as though I were his own daughter, worked tirelessly to put me through school, and never once made me feel like a burden. Even after I became an adult and left his house to build a life of my own, he never stopped reminding me that I would always have a home with him.
Right now, there was nowhere else I wanted to be.
I leaned forward and looked at the driver.
“Please… take me to my Uncle Obed’s house.”
I directed the taxi driver.
Nearly an hour later, the taxi slowed to a stop in front of a modest two-story house in a quiet neighborhood.
I paid the driver, stepped out, and stood silently outside the gate with my suitcase beside me.
The porch light was still on.
For several seconds, I simply stood there, trying to gather enough courage to knock.
I had left the Garrett Mansion with nothing but my dignity.
Now I had to admit to the one man who had always believed in me that my marriage had fallen apart.
Before I could raise my hand, the front door opened.
Uncle Obed stepped outside with a mug in one hand.
The moment he saw me, he froze.
“Selvina?”
His eyes moved from my face to the suitcase at my feet. The warmth on his face disappeared instantly.
He hurried over and opened the gate.
“My goodness…” He stopped right in front of me.
“What happened to you?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out. My lips trembled uncontrollably. The tears I had fought to keep inside spilled over all at once.
“It’s over…” My voice cracked. “My marriage is over.”
Before I knew it, Uncle Obed had pulled me into his arms.
He didn’t ask another question. He simply held me while I cried.
After a long moment, he gently patted my back.
“Come inside first.”
“We’ll talk after you’ve calmed down.”
I nodded weakly and followed him into the house.
Just as he closed the door behind us, he looked at my tear-stained face again.
His expression hardened.
“Tell me one thing, Selvina.”
I looked up at him.
“Who did this to you?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“The Garrett family.”
A dangerous look settled in Uncle Obed’s eyes.
“So… this is how they chose to end it.”
He slowly closed the door behind us.
“They’re going to regret it.”
- Writer
