The House I Paid For Was Never Mine Chapter 10

The House I Paid For Was Never Mine Chapter 10

Once, she threatened to cut her wrist again. Gavin 

did not go to her; he called emergency services and my parents. 

Brielle broke down over the phone. “You used to 

abandon Laurel whenever I said I was sick!” 

“On the day she miscarried, I only had to say I was 

scared, and every one of you came with me to get 

married. How can you ignore me now?” 

The call was on speaker. My parents heard every 

word. 

Brielle had always understood what each sudden 

illness took away from me. She was not as 

innocent as they imagined. 

This time, Gavin did not put all the blame on her. “I 

chose you again and again.” 

“Your parents abandoned Laurel again and again 

too. You exploited our favoritism, but we were the 

people who truly hurt her.” 

The words struck everyone like a slap. 

My mother finally remembered a question I asked 

before my wedding. “If you ever had to choose 

between Brielle and me, whom would your 

choose?” 

She had answered impatiently, “You’re healthy. 

Why do you always compete with your sister?” 

Over those five years, they had made countless 

choices. Not once had they chosen me. 

The civil case lasted eight months. When Brielle 

could not repay the money, the court ordered the 

house sold. 

The proceeds were applied to the judgment after. the lender was paid. 

The home my family once called Brielle’s 

permanent security became the evidence that 

finally forced them to acknowledge who had. 

funded it. 

As she surrendered the keys, she cried to my 

parents, “You said this house would always be 

mine.” 

For the first time, my father did not blame me for 

her pain. He only said wearily, “It was never yours.” 

After Brielle gave birth, Gavin assumed full 

financial and custodial responsibility for the child 

but never returned to her. 

Once the state’s required waiting period passed, 

he filed for divorce. 

She refused, screamed, and again used her health 

as a threat. The man who once abandoned 

everything for her calmly referred every issue to 

his attorney. 

Their marriage eventually ended. 

Brielle had obtained the marriage certificate, the 

house, and the child. She never received the love 

she most wanted to steal from me. 

My parents continued living with her and the baby, 

and their home remained busy. But no one at the 

table remembered everyone’s dietary needs in 

advance. 

The holidays still arrived, but gifts were bought. 

late and medical appointments went 

unscheduled. 

They finally noticed how much invisible work I had 

done only after no one remained to do it. 

No one organized holiday gifts or annual physicals. 

They finally made room for me, but dust settled over that empty place, and the woman who once filled it never returned. 

Two years later, my project officially launched. At the company celebration, Dana announced that I would become the youngest regional director in our division. 

As the room applauded, I remembered the afternoon my project bonus arrived. 

I had rushed to the bank, eager to make the last 

payment on what I believed was my family’s 

home. 

That day, I thought I had lost my partner, my sister, 

my parents, and my best friend. Looking back, I 

had lost only a place that had never truly belonged 

to me. 

After leaving, I regained myself. 

When the celebration ended, I went to close on a 

new condo. The title officer handed me the 

documents and smiled. 

“The property owner will be you, correct?” 

I looked at my name on the page and nodded. 

“Correct.” 

This time, I had earned the down payment and 

would carry the mortgage. Only I held the keys. 

My mother still sent greetings on holidays, and my father mailed one belated birthday gift every year. 

Gavin no longer disturbed me often. 

Only on my birthday did he send the same. 

message. 

Gavin: [Laurel, I’m sorry.] 

I never replied. 

He once asked how I could abandon ten years of 

love so easily. The answer was that it had never 

happened in an instant. 

It was seventeen unanswered calls. 

It was the wedding picture they took while I lost my child alone. 

It was the deed bearing Brielle’s name after I paid. the mortgage for five years. 

It was Gavin asking me to save her first even though he knew I was anemic. 

Each time they abandoned me, they removed 

something from that love. By the time I turned 

away, nothing remained. 

Night deepened beyond my windows, and lights 

appeared in homes across the city. I switched on 

the lights in my new condo. 

No one waited for me to surrender my room, my 

partner, or my life. 

I no longer needed to ask why they did not love 

1. me. 

For the rest of my life, I would love myself well.