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Home / Romance Short Story / This Time, I Walked Away / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of This Time, I Walked Away: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

11 Chapters

Chapter 1

Joshua burst in with his arm around Linda's shoulders. Both of them were drenched. She clung to him, shaking, her face pale."Why are you just standing there? Get us some towels!" he snapped.That bark knocked me out of the fog.Same scene. Same words. And just like that—I knew. I'd been reborn.I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around Mia, holding her like I'd never let go. Tears just came.Joshua barked again. "What are you crying for? Feeling sorry for yourself? I said towels!"I wiped my face and grabbed two.He ignored himself, went straight to drying Linda's hair like she was the one who needed saving.Then she started sniffling. "Mr. Ziegler, does your wife hate me? Maybe I should leave...""It's dangerous out," he said. "You're staying here tonight."Back then, watching them act all cozy used to light up every bit of anger I'd buried. I couldn't help it—I snapped, "What were you two doing out so late? Why weren't you in your dorm?"Linda blinked those big, fa

Chapter 2

"It's late. Linda's tired. She's fragile—give her the bed. We'll take the floor," Joshua said.Linda tugged his sleeve. "You've got class tomorrow. You won't sleep right. I'll take the floor.""You're soaked. If you don't rest, you'll get sick.""No, you take the bed. I'll be fine."They went back and forth like I wasn't even there.Finally, Joshua caved. "Whatever. We'll both sleep in the bed. Come on."I just stared, stunned."Joshua Ziegler! I'm still here and you're crawling into bed with another girl? Are you serious?"He waved me off. "What, you think something's gonna happen right in front of you? Don't throw your trashy small-town mindset at us. This is just a teacher helping a student."I pointed right at them. "Teacher-student bond, my ass. You two are just cheating trash. I'm going to the university president—see if all your students share a bed with their teaching staff!"Linda burst into tears. "Mrs. Ziegler, if you tell him that, I'm done. I never should've come

Chapter 3

We'd just turned down a quiet alley near the restaurant when he stopped cold.He looked back—and my stomach dropped.His eyes were wild. Full of hate."Carmen, you knew how dangerous it was out here. And you let Linda run off alone? How could I have married someone so heartless? She shouldn't be dead—it should've been you!"Before I could move, he shoved me straight into an open manhole. I clawed at the edge, trying to pull myself out.Mia screamed and reached for me."And you, you little brat! If you hadn't cried that night, the neighbors wouldn't have shown up—I could've saved her! You can die too!"He kicked her.She slammed into me, and I lost my grip.We fell.No time to scream. Just freezing, filthy water rushing in. No air. Just panic.We drowned, wide awake the whole time.Even now, alive again, that same cold fear still sits in my chest.So this time, I said nothing. Just held Mia close and watched them play happy couple.After drying off, Joshua told me to make

Chapter 4

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

Chapter 5

My heart was wrecked, my face already streaked with tears.Mia clung to my leg, quietly whimpering.Even a kid could feel how much that hurt. But Joshua? He twisted it into something cruel."You were bought for our family! We paid for you—you should be thankful for life! Without us, your parents would've starved! You don't get to throw that in my face!"I knew how heartless he was—I'd lived it before. But hearing it out loud still hit like a punch to the chest.That was the moment it hit me—in his eyes, I'd never been a wife. Just property they bought.The world had moved on. Even in the countryside, people knew child marriage was illegal now. Everyone had the right to choose who they loved.But until I was nineteen, Joshua and I had never even held hands, let alone shared a bed.I used to think he was this clean-cut, educated guy—way out of my league. No way someone like him would ever want someone like me.So I made peace with it. If he didn't want to marry me, I'd just stay

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

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

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

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

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

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