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Chapter 4

Penulis: Sunny Snow
I took Mia and headed straight to Aunt Freya's place in Pineville, the address still burned into my memory.

We hadn't seen each other in almost twenty years. The second she saw me, her eyes welled up.

I gave her the short version of everything I'd been through. She grabbed my hand, barely holding it together.

"Carmen, you're really going through with the divorce? What about the gossip? You've got a kid—this could ruin your life."

"I don't care anymore. Let them talk. Times have changed. I just... I don't know how any of this works. Please help me."

Right then, there was a knock at the door. A tall guy walked in, all charm and that easy, warm smile.

"Philip, come here," Aunt Freya said. "This is Carmen—my brother's daughter. I wanted to adopt her back then, but he sold her to the Zieglers instead. So I raised you."

"Carmen, You're in luck," she added. "My son's in law. He's got this."

That night, I went home and dropped the divorce papers Philip had put together right in front o
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  • This Time, I Walked Away   Chapter 11

    She added, "He raped me. He forced me into it. I was terrified."Joshua froze, staring at her like the floor had just dropped out from under him."What are you talking about? When did I ever rape you?""Officer, he raped me before I even turned eighteen. Please—you have to help me," said Linda.That's when he finally noticed us by the door.His knees buckled. He almost hit the floor. Still staring at her, stunned."Linda... you said you loved me. That we were meant to be. How could it be rape?""Mr. Ziegler, quit lying. I'm young, with my whole life ahead of me. Why would I ever fall for a married man?"I rushed in and slapped him, hard."You killed Mia! You're a murderer!"The cops stepped in and cuffed him right there.Selling a child—getting her killed—wasn't enough for the death penalty.But Philip fought hard in court. He pushed for the max.Joshua got fifteen years.After Mia's funeral, I spiraled. Grief swallowed me whole.Then one day, Linda showed up. Told me ev

  • This Time, I Walked Away   Chapter 10

    Neighbors said he hadn't come home.We raced back to the school, asking around, but all we got was, "He's on leave."We searched till nightfall. I walked out, exhausted, crying.Right as I was about to get in the car, a hand grabbed my arm.I turned—Linda."Looking for Joshua?""You've seen him? Do you know where my daughter is?"She pulled back, arms crossed. "He took her to his hometown. Heard he sold her for five grand—to a family with a disabled son."My brain just shut off. Legs gave out. I hit the ground.Philip caught me. "I'm driving. We might still have time."He gunned it toward my hometown.We rolled into the small town around 3 a.m.The place was dead—just a few dogs barking in the dark.I ran up and pounded on the door of Susan's house—Joshua's mom.Took her forever to open up. "Bang bang bang—what the hell's your problem!""Susan! Where's Joshua? Where's Mia?"She yawned like we'd just woken her from a nap. "How should I know?"I dropped to my knees. "Ple

  • This Time, I Walked Away   Chapter 9

    I'd spent twenty years serving Joshua's family, and they never treated me half as well as these two people I hadn't seen in just as long.I gave the first half of my life to the wrong people.But things got busy fast—too busy to stay stuck in the past.I opened a little place near the rental and called it Pasta Bar.There was a factory close by, so workers started swinging by on lunch breaks.They said my pasta was clean, tasty, real comfort food—and soon they brought their friends.Philip helped get Mia into school.He picked her up every day. Weekends, he pitched in at the Pasta Bar.Just when I thought we were finally settling into something good, Joshua barged in.He trashed the place—tables flipped, dishes smashed.And then, like it was nothing, he raised his hand to hit me.I grabbed the kitchen knife and held it to my chest.Only then did he back off."You bitch. We're divorced and you're still trying to ruin me?""I don't know what you're talking about.""Don't p

  • This Time, I Walked Away   Chapter 8

    Mia ran to me, shaking, sobbing. "Daddy, don't hit Mommy. That lady started it."He slapped her. "You're just like her—liars, both of you. Linda's sweet. She wouldn't upset anyone."I pulled Mia in, wrapped her up."Not another word," I whispered.Then I locked eyes with Joshua. "Divorce. Now."Linda clung to his arm. "Mr. Ziegler, don't let this ruin things. It's just a misunderstanding. Please don't get divorced."He wasn't hearing any of it. Full meltdown."Fine! Let's get divorced!"He yanked the papers from a drawer and signed them without blinking.I stood up, grabbed our packed bags, and walked out with Mia.As we passed, I caught Linda frowning, like she didn't actually want us to split.Weird. She said all that trash to shove me out—so why the sad face now?Didn't matter. I was done. Time to go and actually live.The little house I'd just rented was cleaned up and ready to go.Mia and I could move in right away.I still had some cash saved from years of hustling

  • This Time, I Walked Away   Chapter 7

    Then he walked out.Three days. He didn't come back.I didn't bother checking the campus.Mia and I were packed—we could bounce anytime.Philip cruised me around Pineville in his old Santana.Everything felt unreal, like I was stuck in someone else's dream.He even helped me score a cheap rental.At first, Aunt Freya begged me to move in, but we hadn't seen each other in twenty years—I wasn't about to crash her place.After a little back-and-forth, I rented a tiny house near hers.Philip took me out a few times—some legit spots.First time trying fondue. First bite of real steak.I didn't know what was next, but something about Pineville's energy made it feel like maybe, just maybe, things would be okay.That night, bringing Mia back to Joshua's apartment, I saw Linda standing at our door."Mrs. Ziegler, I've been waiting. Can I come in?"Stone-faced, I said, "Mr. Ziegler's not here. Try again when he is."Tears filled her eyes. She looked wrecked. "It's freezing. Please

  • This Time, I Walked Away   Chapter 6

    My whole heart was his. It felt like pure honey.That had to be love—the kind city people always talked about.Back then, I thought I was lucky. I got to spend my life with the guy I loved. No matter how tough things got, it all felt worth it.The year he got into college, I found out I was pregnant.Right before he left, he couldn't keep his hands off me. Kept pulling me into bed, over and over.When he came back for winter break, I had our daughter. He doted on us, even brought gifts from Pineville.He went with me to register her birth and get our marriage certificate.Back then, everything still felt perfect.But slowly, he stopped writing. Barely came home during breaks.Still, I believed in him. I thought we had something real—something we both fought for.When he finally graduated, he said he landed a job as a TA because of his top grades. Said he'd be a college professor someday.I cried that night, so sure the hard part was finally behind us.I used to dream about

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