POV: Elena
3:00 PM — The Guest Room Feels Like a Tiout Chair
I ca in here to "rest." That’s what I told Milo.
But let’s be honest — I’m hiding.
From Jas, from Aaron, from my own guilt.
There’s a box fan humming in the window, blowing hot air in circles like it’s trying to punish gently.
I look at myself in the mirror.
No makeup.
Hair in a lazy bun.
Eyes dull.
This woman looks like she lost sothing important.
No — like she stole sothing important and is still waiting for karma to knock on the door.
3:15 PM — I Pick Up the Old Photo
It’s tucked into a book on the dresser.
From our first Christmas together — the blended family phase when everyone still tried too hard.
Jas is wearing that stupid sweater with the reindeer that Milo always made fun of.
Aaron’s laughing at sothing Milo said.
I’m in the middle, hand on Jas’s chest, smiling at the cara like I was in a comrcial for a life I didn’t fully belong to.
Was I ever really part of this family?
Or was I just the complication disguised as comfort?
3:22 PM — The Thought I Don’t Want to Think
I didn’t fall in love with Aaron because I was lonely.
I fell in love with him because he saw .
Before the marriage. Before the title of "stepmom."
He saw the woman underneath.
And I let him.
And I needed it.
And I hated how much I liked being wanted by soone who wasn’t looking at through the lens of responsibility or duty or guilt.
But that’s not love.
That’s selfishness with a better outfit.
3:40 PM — Jas Knocks
I don’t answer right away.
"Can I co in?" he asks gently.
I say yes before my heart can object.
He walks in slowly, sits on the edge of the bed like he’s visiting a hospital patient.
"Elena," he starts, "I’m tired of hating you."
I blink. "That’s... generous."
"It’s not," he replies. "It’s survival."
I nod.
"Did you ever love ?" he asks quietly.
My throat closes. "Yes."
He waits for the rest.
"But I didn’t love myself when I married you. And that’s the part I didn’t know would matter."
That lands like truth. Because it is.
3:45 PM — He Lets Say It
"I’m sorry," I whisper. "Not just for what I did with Aaron. But for not being honest about who I was. About what I wanted."
He nods slowly. "And what do you want now?"
I pause.
Because I’ve never asked myself that out loud.
"I want to be soone who doesn’t hurt people just because she’s scared."
"Good start."
4:00 PM — The Decision
I pack a small bag.
Toothbrush. Wallet. A book I never finished.
And a list — written on the back of a CVS receipt — of everything I need to do next:
Find a therapist.
Call Mom.
Apologize to Milo.
Learn how to cook one thing that isn’t pasta.
Learn how to be alone without feeling abandoned.
Aaron doesn’t see leave.
That’s probably for the best.
4:20 PM — I Text Milo
Elena: Leaving for a while. Please water the plant on my windowsill. It hates less than you do, but just barely.
Milo: I’ll keep it alive. Barely. Kind of like what you did with this family.
Elena: Fair.
Milo: Don’t be a stranger. But maybe be a better person next ti you show up.
Elena: Working on it.
📘 End of Chapter 37
💬 YOUR TURN!
Elena’s finally leaving — not to escape, but to rebuild.
Can this actually be the start of her healing arc?
👇 Comnt: Do you think Elena deserves redemption — or are so lines too ssy to uncross?
❤️ Like this Chapter if her CVS receipt list hit you right in the soul.
🔔 Follow to catch Chapter 38 — where Aaron faces life without her for the first ti... and soone new enters the picture.
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