The End of a Marriage (Colette and Matheo) novel Chapter 194

Chapter 194

CHAPTER 6

Isla fled the dining room, her footsteps quick and uneven as if she

were being chased by the weight of everything she had just witnessed.

She didn’t stop until she reached the safety of her bedroom,

slamming the door shut behind her and leaning heavily against it.

Her chest heaved, her breath coming in sharp, shallow gasps. Her

hands trembled uncontrollably, clutching the doorknob as though it

might anchor her to the ground.

She slid down slowly until she was sitting on the floor, her back

pressed against the solid wood of the door. Disbelief coursed through

her veins, cold and unrelenting, but it was soon overtaken by

something darker: fear.

For nineteen years, this house had been her sanctuary. Every inch of

it, from the grand halls to the quiet corners, held pieces of her soul.

This was the only life she had ever known. She had been

homeschooled here, with tutors guiding her through lessons in the

same rooms where her stepfather had taught her to embrace the

world despite her silence.

The house had been her refuge, its walls shielding her from a world

she had never truly learned to navigate. She had no friends beyond

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the horses she rode each morning, their strong, steady presence a

source of comfort. Her days had been spent nestled in the study,

curled up with books that transported her far beyond the manor’s

grounds. In the evenings, she had walked the gardens and vast estate, finding peace in the rustling trees and the endless skies above.

But now, the sanctuary she had known was slipping away. It wasn’t hers anymore–not the house, not the grounds, not even the memories that clung to the air like shadows of a life she could no

longer hold on to.

She buried her face in her hands, her body shaking as the reality

crashed over her. I have to leave.

The words echoed in her mind like a judge’s sentence, cold and final. The thought of packing her belongings, of stepping out into a world she wasn’t prepared for, made her stomach churn. She had no idea how to survive outside these walls. She had no training, no job, no experience. Where would she go? What would she do?

Tears stung her eyes as she stumbled to her bed, collapsing onto it as though her legs could no longer bear her weight. She pressed her face into the familiar softness of her pillow, inhaling the faint scent of lavender that her mother had always loved. But even that small comfort couldn’t quiet the storm raging within her.

Her thoughts spun wildly, her mind racing through possibilities that

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felt like lifelines fraying before she could grasp them. She had a trust

fund left to her by Robert–enough to keep her afloat for a while,

perhaps long enough to figure out how to stand on her own.

I’ll leave before Graham asks me to, she resolved, the decision as

sharp and painful as a knife to her chest.

The idea of staying, of waiting for the moment Graham would sit her down and tell her she no longer belonged, was unbearable. She couldn’t endure the humiliation of being treated like a burden, of being offered money to go quietly. It wasn’t just the prospect of leaving that hurt–it was the realization that she had lost everything.

Her sanctuary. Her family. Her place in this world.

But even in her heartbreak, one thing remained intact: her pride.

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