All Chapters of WHERE SHE NEVER BELONGED : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The WarningBy the time December arrived, Amara had convinced herself that Vince's trip home was nothing more than a visit to his parents.She had no reason to think otherwise.At least, that was what she kept telling herself.The first few days after Vince left were strangely quiet. She missed him, but she wasn't worried. She had work to keep her busy, and her colleagues made sure she was never alone for too long. They were a loud group of women who could turn almost anything into a joke, especially when it came to their bosses.Their bosses happened to be Vince's family.That alone gave them plenty to complain about.They had their own stories about the family, their own frustrations and their own private jokes. Amara had become close to them because they understood what it was like to work under people who could smile at you one minute and make you feel like an inconvenience the next.She trusted those women.They were the people she laughed with during lunch, the people she compla

The Night We Finally MetMarch 25, 2023.I had been waiting for that day for months.By then, Justin had become part of my everyday life. We had started talking in December, when I was bored and hurting and had created a dating-app account without expecting anything serious to come from it.Somehow, he had stayed.The messages became phone calls. The phone calls became late-night conversations. Before I realized it, I had become used to hearing his voice.I still didn't know exactly what we were.We had never sat down and called ourselves boyfriend and girlfriend, but after months of talking, I believed there was something between us.Something real.So when we finally decided to meet, I was excited.And terrified.I still had work that day, which was probably a good thing because it kept me from thinking about the meeting every second.But as my shift came to an end, my nerves started getting worse.I knew I couldn't go home looking the way I wanted to and then risk someone from Vinc

The Man Who Came BackBy the time May 1 arrived, I had almost convinced myself that Vince no longer mattered.Almost.I had spent the past few months trying to put the pieces of my life back together.December had broken something inside me.January had been about surviving.February passed without me really noticing.March brought Liam into my life.April brought James.And somewhere between all of it, I had started learning how to live without waiting for Vince to come back.Then he called.He wanted to see me.It was May 1, a public holiday, and he knew I would finish work early.He didn't explain much.He simply asked me to meet him at our usual place.I agreed.I don't know why.Maybe because even after everything, some part of me still wanted answers.Maybe I wanted to see whether being around him would still make me feel the way it used to.Or maybe I just wanted to understand how someone could promise you forever and then marry somebody else.After work, I went home, changed a

Still Blinded by LoveThe morning after I spent the night with Vince, I woke up with a strange feeling in my chest.Not sadness.Not regret.Something much more embarrassing.I was happy.I hated admitting that to myself.After everything Vince had done, after the wedding, the lies and the months of wondering what had happened to the man I married, I had still gone to him when he asked.And now, the morning after, I couldn't stop thinking about him.I got ready for work, trying to convince myself that it had been nothing.Just a night.Just two people who were still legally married spending time together.Nothing more.But every time I remembered something he had said or the way he had looked at me, I smiled.And then I would catch myself smiling and immediately become annoyed with myself."Get a grip, Amara."I was still in love with him.That was the truth.No matter how many times I told myself I was moving on, my heart hadn't received the message.When I arrived at work, my collea

A Week AwayThe weekend finally came, and for the first time in a long time, I was genuinely excited.I was leaving the province for an entire week.I wanted to forget about everything waiting for me back home—the job, my in-laws, Vince, the questions about our marriage, and the constant feeling that my life was becoming something I didn't recognize.Just for one week, I wanted to disappear.I wanted to be somewhere nobody knew me as Vince's wife.Somewhere I could dress however I wanted, laugh as loudly as I wanted and wake up without immediately remembering everything that had happened.James had been excited about my visit too.We had been talking for weeks about what we would do while I was there. He had plans for us, places he wanted to take me and things he wanted to show me.I was looking forward to it.Maybe more than I should have been.When I finally arrived, I expected to see James waiting for me.He wasn't.I stood there with my bags, looking around while people passed me.