chapter 4: The Last Home I Had

Karen POV

The taxi stopped in front of Ashley’s house, and for one moment that lasted too long, I didn’t move.

I stayed seated in the back seat, staring at the familiar façade, the lights on, the curtain slightly open. It was an ordinary house—simple, warm, welcoming.

I paid the driver, thanked him, and got out.

The night air was colder now. A dry, persistent cold. I pulled my coat tighter around my body and dragged the suitcase to the door. My hands were shaking when I pressed the doorbell. Once. Twice.

The door opened almost immediately.

Ashley appeared barefoot, wearing an oversized sweatshirt, her hair tied up carelessly—exactly how she always looked at home. She tried to smile, that automatic smile of someone expecting something normal—but it died the instant her eyes met mine.

Not the “fine” Karen.

Not the “in control” Karen.

The broken Karen.

“Kar—”

The sob came before any words.

As soon as Ashley closed the door behind us, my legs simply gave out. I clung to her as if she were the only solid thing left in the world and cried. I cried loudly, messily, without shame, without trying to hold anything back. An ugly, ancient, accumulated cry—the kind that seems to come from places you didn’t even know existed.

Ashley didn’t say anything at first. She just held me. Wrapped her arms tightly around me, as if she were literally keeping me from falling apart.

“It’s okay,” she murmured near my ear. “It’s okay now. You’re safe.”

But it wasn’t okay.

And maybe it never had been.

When the crying finally lost its strength, she guided me to the couch. Sat beside me, covered me with a blanket, and stayed there. She didn’t rush me. She didn’t ask questions. Ashley had always known I needed silence before I could speak.

I took a few deep breaths.

“He asked me for a divorce,” I finally said, my voice weak, almost unrecognizable even to myself.

Ashley froze. Completely froze.

“What?” she asked, as if she hadn’t heard correctly.

“He put the papers on the table,” I went on. “Right in front of her.”

“Where?” Her voice was already harder.

“In the bedroom.” I swallowed. “They were kissing when I walked in.”

The silence that followed was heavy—the kind of silence that comes right before an explosion.

“Wait,” Ashley said slowly. “You’re talking about Maggie?”

I nodded.

“In your house?” her voice rose.

“Yes.”

“In YOUR bed?” she pressed, incredulous.

“Yes.”

Ashley jumped to her feet. “Oh no. NO.”

She started pacing back and forth across the living room, running her hands through her hair. “I knew it. I swear I knew it. That woman always looked fake. Always. Too smiley, too polite… a snake, pure and simple.”

I let out a weak, almost involuntary smile. “She thanked me.”

Ashley stopped in the middle of the room. “She did what?”

“When I said they deserved each other,” I explained. “She smiled… and said ‘thank you.’”

“That woman is a cynic,” Ashley exploded. “A soulless, shameless, spineless cynic.”

Then, as if it finally hit her all at once, she looked at me with pure rage in her eyes. “And Harvey? What did that bastard say?”

“Told me to sign,” I replied. “Like he’d been waiting for it for years.”

“Who does that?” she snapped. “That man is trash. Cold, calculating, cowardly trash. A worm in an expensive suit.”

I closed my eyes for a moment. “I signed.”

Ashley stopped dead. Stared at me. “You what?”

“I signed everything,” I repeated. “No arguing. No questions.”

“Karen—”

“There was nothing left to argue about,” I interrupted, exhausted. “None of it was mine anymore. Not even the marriage.”

She took deep breaths, trying to control herself, but it was useless. Her anger was almost tangible.

“He cheated on you,” she said, pointing into the air. “Humiliated you. Discarded you. And still had the nerve to make out in your bedroom, in your bed.”

“He said he never loved me,” I added, my voice barely audible.

Ashley squeezed her eyes shut. “Son of a bitch. Bastard.”

“Mommy?”

A little boy appeared at the living room doorway, rubbing his eyes. About five years old. Messy hair, dinosaur pajamas.

He looked at me for a second… and smiled.

“Aunt Karen,” he said, coming over.

My chest tightened in a different way when he hugged me tightly.

“Hi, my love,” I murmured, holding him.

“Are you sad?” he asked, far too serious for his age.

Ashley approached. “Go back to your room, champ. Mommy will be there soon.”

He nodded, but before leaving, he hugged me again. “Don’t be sad, okay?”

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “I’ll try.”

When he left, Ashley sat down slowly beside me.

I took a deep breath, trying to organize the words that still burned in my throat. “Ashley… there’s one more thing you need to know.”

She looked at me, alert, as if she could sense something heavy was coming.

“Maggie… is pregnant.”

She blinked, stunned. “What the hell?”

“By Harvey.”

Her face changed instantly. Her eyes burned with rage and disbelief. “That cow? That piece of trash? How… how does he have the nerve?”

I swallowed before continuing. “And… I am too.”

Ashley’s mouth fell open. A heavy silence filled the room for endless seconds. Then she exploded. “You’re telling me that that cynical bitch and him… him… made you go through this too?”

I nodded, my voice weak but steady. “I found out today. All of it today.”

She started pacing again, anger burning in every movement. “I can’t believe this! He’s a calculating monster, cold as ice! And that Maggie… that snake, smiling and taking advantage of everything! It’s disgusting!”

“I know,” I murmured. “It’s… absurd.”

“Absurd doesn’t even begin to cover it!” she shouted. “He humiliated you, Karen! He made you sign divorce papers like they were nothing, and now—” She pointed at me, her fury almost physical. “—they’re laughing, living their perfect little life, while you carry the consequences of all this bullshit!”

I felt my throat tighten, but Ashley’s embrace came before I could break down again. She held me firmly, as if she wanted to shield me from the entire world. “That bastard… Harvey never had any character, and that Maggie… what a despicable excuse for a woman! You need to protect yourself, Karen. You’re stronger than he ever imagined!”

Tears streamed down, but they weren’t just mine.

“They deserve to suffer later,” she said, almost whispering. “And you… you’re going to come out of this whole. They’ll choke on this humiliation, I promise.”

I placed a hand over my belly. “It won’t be easy…”

“No,” Ashley replied firmly, with that sharp, decisive look. “But you won’t go through this alone. I’m here. And let me be very clear: Maggie is a soulless hypocrite, and Harvey—that worm—only deserves to drown in his own arrogance.”

I took a deep breath, still feeling the heat of her anger mixing with my fear and shock. For the first time that day, I felt like I wasn’t completely lost.

“I left without taking anything. The housekeeper… Emily… brought a suitcase.”

“Good girl,” Ashley said. “More human than those two put together.”

After a while, I stood up. “I’m going to take a shower.”

“Go,” she said. “I’ll make something for us to eat.”