Chapter 26

Life is too sudden and unpredictable. When the reality of my marriage unfolded before my eyes, I had taken a long time to truly believe it. Now that I had been taken out of that hell, it was taking just as long, if not longer, for me to accept my freedom.

"Careful, careful," said Mom, helping me sit up.

I smiled at her and rested my back against the pillow.

She handed me a bowl of soup and left the room. 

Today I was still alive and sitting in my own room in my own house because of her and Irene. If it hadn't been for their suspicion and concern, I would have lost myself long ago. 

Of course, I had drafted the plan. But it would have never worked if they had not acted upon it. Even without me saying anything, Mom had understood what I was trying to say. 

As expected, she had called up Irene to ask what was going on and why I was so annoyed with her. A long discussion of confusion, questions, and doubts had ensued between the two of them.

Ace contributed towards the working of my plan. He fired Irene after telling her that I had fought with him and gone back to my parents' house. And this backfired on him brilliantly.

Irene repeated the same thing to Mom who then told her that nothing like that had happened and that I was definitely not with her. Then Irene expressed her own suspicion by telling Mom about how all my belongings were still back at the house that I shared with Ace and how it clearly seemed like I had vanished abruptly, leaving behind even my most important things.

Together, they put two and two together. Irene told Mom everything about how Ace used to treat me at home. Then dad got involved and so did the police.

They had not taken any action the same day because they had to first arrive in Amoredale. The police in my hometown contacted the police in Amoredale and explained the entire situation.

Irene was sure that I was being held at Christina's house and her guess had been correct. 

The noises that I had heard and the people that I had seen at the time of losing consciousness were the police, my parents, and Irene.

They had found me unconscious, bruised and bleeding. I wished my parents had not seen me like that, but it was a small price to pay for the freedom that I now had the opportunity to cherish.

I was rushed to the hospital emergency room to be treated for my wounds. The medical staff documented every single wound and scar. They also documented the evidence of rape. 

Ace and Christina had been taken into custody and charged with kidnapping, unlawful captivity, domestic violence, torture, and a few other things. Evelyn had also been taken into custody and was charged for being an accomplice. 

The court hearing was next month, and everything would be finalized then. Both Dad and my lawyer were quite sure that Ace and Christina would be in prison for a good number of years.

However, nobody was sure about the charge of rape. Since there was no such thing as marital rape in Amoredale, we had to wait for the judge's decision on that matter. My circumstances were different, and Ace's intentions were cruel, therefore there was a good chance that the decision would be in my favor in this regard as well.

Our divorce had been completed as well. I was truly and completely free of him.

"Hey," said a voice.

I looked up to see Irene coming in.

"Hi." I smiled. "Good morning." 

Irene had come back to Peachville with me. I had given her a permanent job and doubled her pay. 

"What do you want for lunch today?" She smiled back.

"Anything is fine," I said. Taking hold of her hand, I added, "Irene, I didn't get a proper chance to thank you yet. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be here today. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. You saved me." 

"It was my duty," she said, "I knew something was wrong from the day you disappeared. But I was just not sure. I was always so anxious and restless." 

"You're a good friend." I squeezed her hand.

She beamed. "So are you." 

It had been two weeks since my rescue. I had stayed in the hospital for two days and then flown back to Peachville directly from the hospital. I did not have the courage to go back to either Christina's house or mine, not even to collect my things. My parents had taken care of that.

Irene left the room.

I ate a spoonful of soup and relished the taste of home. I had missed this so much.

My phone vibrated with text messages from Sabrina. She was planning a long family trip. Just us and Mom and Dad. We needed the time together to heal and feel loved.

When Dad found out about Christina's accident and her blaming him for it, he was shocked. The truth turned out to be far from what Christina believed. 

Dad and Ace's dad had left the party together in the latter's car. Dad's car had been taken to the hotel by the driver. And the person who hit Christina was that driver. He had gotten scared and driven away from the site of the accident instead of stopping to help. A few days later, he left the job. 

Dad knew nothing about any of this. I had been right about my father.

Dad filed a complaint against that driver who finally confessed and was now being charged for his crime.

I took in a deep breath. 

I had not seen Ace or Christina since I had lost consciousness that day. I just did not want to see them.

I knew that I was not being courageous and that I was hiding from facing my demons. But it was alright with me. I wanted to take things slowly and give myself enough time to heal. Even if it meant that I was avoiding my monsters, it was fine. One day, when I was mentally strong enough, I would look them in the eye again.

My journey of healing had started. I did not know how long it was going to take for me to ever feel completely safe and normal again, or if that would even be a reality someday. But I was hopeful. 

My scars wouldn't heal as quickly, the pain wouldn't fade away as much and the nightmares might never stop. But I would love myself and fill up every single wound.

The marks on my body would be my motivation to live. And one day, I would be healed enough to look Ace and Christina in the eye and cherish the satisfaction that their defeated faces would bring me.

They had failed to end the story of my life. Now I was going to rewrite it.