The House I Paid For Was Never Mine Chapter 04
Each mortgage payment that left my account made me feel happy because I believed I was buying our home one month at a time.
Now I knew it had all been a cruel joke.
The lock clicked. Gavin stepped inside and visibly relaxed when he saw me in the living room.
“I knew you’d come back.”
He removed his coat and went into the kitchen as usual to make me a drink. He added honey and warmed it to the temperature I liked.
“Laurel, I admit I was wrong to hide this. But the ten years we spent together were real.”
He looked at me with a tenderness I knew too well. “You’re the one who shared my life for the past five years.”
“All Brielle has is a legal document. Nothing between us needs to change.”
I watched him quietly. “And?”
Gavin paused. “Brielle promised she wouldn’t move in and disturb us.”
“The deed may be in her name, but you can keep living here.”
He even reached for me. “If you stop fighting this, we can go back to the way we were.”
At last, I understood. He had never intended to choose between Brielle and me.
He could not let go of her devotion, and he was certain I would never leave. He had disguised his greed as responsibility toward two women.
His phone rang. The instant he saw the caller, he released my hand.
Brielle was crying that her chest hurt. Gavin grabbed his coat, then glanced back from the door.
“She was upset today, so I need to check on her. Get some rest.
“I’ll come back once she’s stable.”
When the door closed, I pulled the largest suitcase from the top of the closet.
Ten years together. Five years of what I had called marriage.
Everything that truly belonged to me filled only half a suitcase.
The closet still held the matching outfits he had bought, and our wedding portrait remained above the bed.
I did not touch either one because carrying them away would not make them mine again.
I left behind our matching clothes, the wedding portrait above the bed, and every piece of furniture I had chosen.
From the deed to the man of the house, nothing there had ever been mine.
Six months earlier, my company had invited me to lead a long-term project at its Pacific Northwest division.
I refused immediately because I could not bear to leave Gavin.
Now I called the regional director again. “Is the transfer still available?”
She answered quickly, “Yes. You could leave tomorrow.”
Watching the honey water cool on the coffee table, I said, “Please book the flight.”
I had barely ended the call when the door flew open. My father charged over and slapped me.
“How could you be this vicious?”
I stumbled into the coffee table, my cheek swelling rapidly. Gavin stood in the doorway, the last warmth gone from his eyes.
“Brielle cut her wrist. The doctor said she lost too much blood, and the baby may not survive.”
My mother gripped my arm, sobbing. “She’s pregnant and already in poor health.
“Why did you have to provoke her?”
My ears rang. “I haven’t called her once since I left.”
“What does her decision have to do with me?”
My father’s voice turned cold. “Would she have done it if you hadn’t caused a scene?”
“She has always been considerate. You must have driven her beyond what she could bear.”