Anabella stared at her phone, her thumb hovering over Clair’s contact na. The past few days had been a whirlwind of emotions, and she could feel the cracks in her resolve threatening to spread. It wasn’t just the divorce papers; it was everything. Her mother, Daniel, the pitying gazes from strangers—it all weighed heavily on her, like a storm she couldn’t outrun.
She inhaled deeply, her hand trembling slightly. This wasn’t just a call for help; it was a declaration that she couldn’t do this alone. And that truth, as liberating as it was, still hurt.
Finally, she pressed the call button. The ringing seed to stretch on forever until Clair’s familiar voice answered.
"Anabella?" Clair sounded surprised, and Anabella could almost picture her adjusting her tone to sound calr, softer. "What’s going on? Are you okay?"
Anabella hesitated, her voice catching in her throat. "Clair... I need your help."
There was a pause, followed by a rustling sound, as if Clair was shifting her phone. "Of course," Clair said quickly. "What do you need?"
"I..." Anabella struggled to find the words. "It’s about the divorce. I—I can’t do this on my own. I thought I could, but..." She trailed off, fighting the lump in her throat.
Clair didn’t hesitate. "Where are you right now? Are you safe?"
"Yes," Anabella said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Okay. Hold on." Clair’s voice was steady, grounding. There was a faint click as she put the call on speaker. "Noah’s here with . Let’s figure this out together, okay?"
"Anabella?" Noah’s deep voice ca through, tinged with concern. "What’s going on?"
Anabella swallowed hard. "I got the divorce papers. I... I’ve decided to go through with it. I just... I don’t know where to start."
There was a brief silence before Noah spoke again. "You’re doing the right thing, Anabella. And you’re not alone in this. Clair and I—we’re here. We’ll help you every step of the way."
Hearing those words, Anabella felt a weight lift off her chest. She didn’t break down, but it was a near thing. Her voice wavered as she replied, "Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you two."
"You’ll never have to find out," Clair said gently.
They spent the next hour on the phone, talking Anabella through the process. Clair explained the legal steps in detail, her calm, professional deanor putting Anabella at ease. Noah, on the other hand, took a more lighthearted approach, cracking a few jokes to make her smile.
By the ti they hung up, Anabella felt a small flicker of hope. She wasn’t out of the woods yet, but she wasn’t alone anymore.
______
anwhile, Daniel sat in his dimly lit office, nursing a glass of whiskey. His phone buzzed on the desk, and he glanced at it with disinterest—until he saw the ssage from Anabella.
"I’ve made my decision. I’ll sign the divorce papers."
The glass slipped from his hand, shattering against the hardwood floor. For a mont, he stared at the ssage, his mind reeling. She was divorcing him. Just like that.
The initial shock quickly gave way to a burning sense of betrayal. How could she do this to him? After everything, she was just going to walk away?
Daniel slamd his fist against the desk, the sharp pain doing little to quell the storm inside him. "That ungrateful—" He cut himself off, his breath coming in short, angry bursts.
The mories of their life together flashed through his mind, tainted now by the knowledge that she was ready to leave him. And for what? To prove a point? To defy him?
He grabbed his phone, dialing her number with trembling hands. The line rang and rang before going to voicemail.
"Anabella," he growled into the phone. "You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to walk away from like I’m nothing. Call back."
He hung up, his chest heaving. The silence of the room was deafening, amplifying his rage.
Daniel couldn’t believe how easily she was willing to throw everything away. It wasn’t just about him; it was about Jas, their son. Didn’t she care about what this would do to him?
But deep down, another thought gnawed at him—a realization he didn’t want to face. This wasn’t about Anabella betraying him. This was about him losing control.
For years, he had been the one calling the shots, the one holding the reins. And now, for the first ti, he felt them slipping from his grasp.
His phone buzzed again, this ti with a ssage from his lawyer. Daniel ignored it, his mind consud by thoughts of Anabella.
She would regret this.
______
Back at the hospital, Clair and Noah arrived to take Anabella ho. She hesitated at first, worried about imposing on them, but Clair wouldn’t hear of it.
"You need to rest," Clair insisted as she helped Anabella into the car. "And you’re not doing that alone."
Anabella gave a small nod, her gaze distant.
During the drive, Noah kept the conversation light, pointing out random things on the street and cracking jokes that made Anabella smile despite herself. For a mont, it felt like old tis, before everything had gone wrong.
When they reached her apartnt, Clair and Noah walked her inside, ensuring she was settled before they left.
"Rember," Noah said as they prepared to leave, "we’re just a call away. Anyti you need us."
Anabella nodded, her heart full of gratitude.
As they left, she stood in the doorway, watching them disappear down the hall. For the first ti in a long ti, she felt a glimr of hope—fragile but real.
She had her friends by her side. Her real friends who would stand by her side and never let her go. She had a chance to change her life and to be more than just her family na.
For the first ti, it felt as if soone genuinely cared about her and not the ’oga of her family’
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