They Regret Losing Me Too Late

Bella's POV

"I swear under oath, I saw it with my own eyes."

My husband's voice filled the courtroom. Logan Carter stood in the witness box. He did not look at me once.

"My wife, Bella Carter, ran over the victim. She broke her legs on purpose."

The room exploded in whispers. My knees went weak.

"Logan," I said. "Logan, look at me. You know I didn't—"

"Order!" The judge struck the gavel.

Then my son stood up. Danny was only ten. His small hand shook as he pointed at me.

"My mother doesn't care about people's lives."

Sophia, my eight-year-old daughter, hid behind her brother and nodded. "Your Honor, give her the maximum sentence. Aunt Ruby deserves justice."

Across the aisle, Ruby Weston sat in a wheelchair, both legs wrapped in white casts. Tears rolled down her pretty face. She was my best friend. We had grown up together for twenty years. When her husband and son died in a car crash, I was the one who brought her into my home.

Now she lowered her head. For one second, I saw it. A tiny smile.

"This court sentences Bella Carter to ten years in prison, effective immediately."

The gavel came down again. Something inside me broke with it.

*************************

Ten years later.

"Well, well. Getting tougher, huh?"

Big Rhonda cracked her knuckles. Three women stood behind her in the shower room. Water dripped from my hair onto the cold floor.

"It's my last day," I said. "Leave me alone."

"Last day?" Rhonda laughed. "Then let's give you something to remember us by. Girls, get her."

They came all at once. A fist hit my stomach. Someone grabbed my hair and slammed my shoulder into the wall. I did not cry. I had stopped crying in my first year.

"Bella Carter!" A guard's voice rang out from the doorway. "Your family is here to take you home."

The women let go. Rhonda spat at my feet. I pulled my sleeve down over the fresh bruise and walked out.

Outside the gate, the sun was too bright. Logan stood by his black car. Danny and Sophia stood beside him, taller now, almost strangers. For one foolish second, my heart jumped.

Then the car door opened, and Ruby stepped out. She walked on her own two legs. No limp at all.

Logan held out a bouquet of white lilies. "Here."

I reached for them.

"They're Ruby's favorites," he said. "Give them to her yourself."

My hand froze in the air.

"You've had ten years in there to reflect," Logan went on. "Ruby is kind. She'll forgive you."

"Forgive me?" My voice came out rough. "For what, Logan?"

"What's wrong with you?" He frowned. "You grew up together. When her husband and son died, you brought her home. And now you're always against her." He pushed the flowers into my chest. "As long as Ruby forgives you, we're not getting divorced."

I stared at the lilies. Their sweet smell made me sick.

"Let's go," he said. "The kids are waiting."

"Mother, you're a queen!" Sophia cried. But she was not looking at me. She was hugging Ruby's waist.

My breath stopped.

"Mother?" I whispered.

Ruby smiled at me over Sophia's head. "The kids just got used to it, Bella. You were gone so long."

My own children called her Mother. I was not even dead yet.

I saw it then, clearer than ever. She had planned all of it. My husband. My children. My life. She took everything, piece by piece, while I sat in a cell.

"Bella!" Ruby opened her arms and rushed toward me. "You're back! I missed you so much!"

"Stop right there."

She stopped. Her eyes dropped to my arm, where the sleeve had slipped.

"Bella, how did you get these injuries?" she asked loudly, so everyone could hear.

Before I could answer, she gasped and grabbed her knee. "Oh! My leg!"

"Ruby!" Logan ran to her.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Danny dropped to his knees beside her.

"I'm fine." Ruby bit her lip bravely. "It's just the leg Bella hurt ten years ago. It started hurting again."

"Right here?" Danny rubbed her knee gently. "Does it still hurt, Aunt Ruby?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore, sweetheart." She looked straight at me while she said it.

I turned and walked away before they saw my face.

At the end of the street, an old woman in a long camel coat stood waiting.

"Evelyn," I breathed.

"I've waited ten years for today." Evelyn Fernandez took my cold hands in hers. "You're finally out."

"You came."

"Bella, you were my best student. You gave up your career for your family." Her eyes searched mine. "Let me ask you again. Will you leave them behind and come abroad with me?"

My throat burned. "I thought you'd given up on me. I thought you'd believe Ruby like everyone else."

"In my eyes, no one comes close to you." She squeezed my hands. "If you want to dance again, I promise you'll shine on the world stage. You'll be greater than I ever was. I'll help you change your identity. A clean break. A fresh start."

I looked back. Logan was helping Ruby into the car. My children climbed in after her. Nobody turned to look for me.

"Evelyn," I said. "I'm going with you."

"Good." She nodded once. "I'll pick you up in two weeks."

********************

That evening, Logan found me standing alone in the lobby of our apartment building.

"Where were you? I've been looking everywhere for you." He grabbed my wrist. "I got you a present for your homecoming. It's upstairs. Come on, let's go open it."

He pulled me into the elevator. Ruby and the kids stepped in behind us. Ruby stood closest to the buttons. She pressed the top floor and smiled at me.

The doors closed. We started going up.

Then the elevator jerked to a stop. The light went out.

Total darkness.

My chest locked. My hands went cold. I had been terrified of the dark since I was a little girl. Five years in a cell, where they cut the lights at nine every night, had only made it worse.

"Logan," I gasped. "Logan, I can't—"

"I can't breathe!" Ruby's scream drowned me out. "Logan, it's so dark! I can't stand it!"

"Ruby!" Logan's voice moved away from me. "I'm here. Hold on to me."

"Mother!" Sophia cried. "Don't be scared! We're here!"

"Dad, use your phone light!" Danny shouted. "Mother can't take the dark!"

A small white beam lit up the corner. All three of them were wrapped around Ruby, holding her, stroking her hair, whispering to her.

Nobody looked at me. I was pressed against the cold wall, shaking, fighting for every breath.

Ruby lifted her head from Logan's shoulder. Over his arm, her eyes found mine in the dim light. She leaned close enough for only me to hear.

"Welcome home, Bella," she whispered. "Did you really think coming back would change anything? I'll make your life miserable, just like before."

She had done this. Every second of it.

I closed my eyes. In the blackness, I heard my children's little voices from years ago, when I tucked them into bed and left the hall light on for myself.

"Mommy, you're scared of the dark? Don't worry. When we grow up, we'll protect you."

How ironic.

Twenty years I gave that woman my friendship. Now my children were grown enough to protect someone. Just not me. They were holding the liar who stole their mother's life, and they could not even see it.

The light flickered back on. The elevator hummed and started moving again.

Ruby straightened up, wiped her fake tears, and leaned on Logan like a wounded bird.

I pressed my shaking hand against the wall and stood up straight.

Two weeks. That was all I had left with this family.

And before I left, I was going to destroy Ruby's cheap act for good.