The End of a Marriage (Colette and Matheo) novel Chapter 195

Chapter 195

Her hands trembled as she began packing. She worked quickly but

methodically, filling the suitcase with as many essentials as it could

hold. Clothes for daily wear were folded tightly against each other, a

few personal keepsakes tucked in between them. Her fingers lingered

on her mother’s ring, the delicate band from her biological father

that had always been a quiet reminder of who she was before Robert

Lancaster entered her life. She slipped it into a small pouch and

secured it in the suitcase, as though the weight of it might anchor her

amidst the storm ahead.

By two in the morning, Isla was ready. She tied the laces of her canvas

shoes with a deliberate slowness, as if prolonging the moment might

grant her strength. Her phone buzzed with a message–her ride was

here. A surge of apprehension swept through her, and she felt her

chest tighten as though she couldn’t breathe. But she had to. She had

to get up. She had to leave.

Dragging the suitcase behind her, she slipped silently into the

hallway, careful not to make a sound. The manor was dark and still,

the walls that had once cradled her childhood now seemed like silent

witnesses to her departure. She didn’t dare turn around for one last

look; she couldn’t bear to. Her resolve was fragile, and a single glance

at the place she had called home could shatter it completely.

Chapter 195

I need to do this, she reminded herself, clutching the suitcase handle

as if it might keep her steady. She wasn’t a child anymore, nor a

burden for others to carry. If this was the world’s way of pushing her

toward independence, then she would meet it with what strength she

could muster. She had no choice.

The air outside was crisp, the kind that made her cheeks sting and her

breath fog in the faint glow of the taxi’s headlights. She stepped into

the car, her suitcase thudding softly in the trunk. As the vehicle pulled away, she forced herself to face forward, staring at the winding

road ahead. She couldn’t look back, not even once.

The manor’s silhouette disappeared into the night, swallowed by the trees lining the driveway. Her heart felt heavy, like an anchor trying to pull her back, but her mind pushed her forward. This is my chance, she thought. I have to start over. I have to make it on my own.

The drive was quiet, save for the low hum of the engine. The familiar sights of Willow Creek slipped away, replaced by the vast unknown. With every mile, the ache in Isla’s chest grew sharper. Leaving behind the only life she had ever known felt like losing a part of herself. But she also knew staying wasn’t an option–not when she’d overheard Graham’s plans, not when she couldn’t stand to be a burden.

After two hours, the taxi stopped outside a modest guesthouse in Magnolia Ridge, a small, charming town she had researched earlier. It wasn’t far from the Georgia–South Carolina border, nestled in

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Chapter 195

anonymity like a secret waiting to be discovered. The guesthouse was

nothing like the grandeur of Thornfield Manor; its faded paint and

crooked shutters spoke of simpler, humbler beginnings. It would have

to do.

She paid the driver with shaky hands, watching the dwindling stack of

cash in her wallet with a pang of anxiety. Every dollar counted now.

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