Chapter 9%
Days passed. And finally–I walked
No more dragging my feet. No more wheelchairs or hidden limps. My body had healed, slowly but surely. I didn’t bother pretending anymore. I didn’t need to
my own two feet!!
Because I had moved to the next phase. I was no longer playing the broken doll. I was standing. On my
But that didn’t mean I forgave him. Cameron continued hovering around me, always there, always watching. Like a ghost in a tailored suit. He brought me meals. Carried my books. Sat outside my room in case I needed something.”
But I didn’t need anything from him.
Not anymore. Every time he looked at me with those mournful eyes, I tumed away
He tried to talk, to coax even one word from me. But I stayed silent, now not from trauma–but from choice.
I didn’t want to hear his voice. Didn’t want to be touched. Didn’t want his pity or his remorse.!!
So I wrote it down.
A note I handed to him one evening after dinner
Leave. I don’t want you here. I don’t want to see your face. Stay away from me.
He read it. And for the first time he broke.
He sank to his knees right there in the hallway, the paper crumpling in his hand.
“Alicia.” His voice cracked. “Please… don’t do this to me..”
I didn’t move
Tears streamed down his face. He pressed his forehead to the floor, his pride gone, his voice trembling.
“I can’t bear it. I can’t sleep. I can’t breathe without thinking about what I’ve done to you. I’ll never forgive myself–but please… don’t shut
me out.
I took a pen and scribbled quickly on a fresh piece of paper
You just realized that now? After everything? Didn’t you say I killed your parents? That my familly was the reason you had to swallow pills to be a man?2
His eyes met mine, full of regret.
“I did,” he whispered. “And I was wrong.”
He stood slowly, his hands open, voice barely above a whisper.
“I started an investigation months ago. I had to know if what I believed all this time was true. And the truth it’s coming. The results will be here soon. But even if they say I was wrong–what good is that to you now? Your parents are already gone. And I=“2
His voice cracked again.
I’m so sorry.
Can we just start again?”
But I shook my head
It didn’t matter.&
Sorry didn’t bring back the dead. Sorry didn’t fix the hell I lived through. Sorry didn’t make me whole again. So how dare he ask for another chance as if everything was just a game?
I opened the door behind me, stepped aside, and pointed down the hall.
He understood. And without another word, Cameron left?
The next day, I visited the hospital for another therapy session. As usual, Cameron had assigned bodyguards to accompany me, pretending like he was being protective–but I knew it was about control. He didn’t want to lose me again. He was afraid of what I’d do.
Smart man. Because he had a reason to fear
When she left the room, I slipped into the hallway. One of the guards followed, but i
Once inside the hospital, I asked the nurse for water. V
had already planned for that
I slipped into the stairwell–and ran. Pain pulsed through my hip, but I didn’t stop.X
Out the back entrance. Across the staff parking lot
And there–behind the hedge–a public phone box.
I slid the coins into the slot and dialed the number)
It rang once.
Then twiceI
Then a voice I hadn’t heard in years answered.
“You’re safe??
“Yes,” I whispered “It’s me Alicia I’m ready”
There was a pause l
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “I need it to be secret. If Cameron finds out, I won’t be able to do what I planned.”
Than the unica na tha lan said midada “ledarstand. 101 susmanit Pamannur Thema’s
Another pause. Then the voice on the line said quietly, “Understood. I’ll arrange it. Come now. There’s a limousine waiting by the chapel across the street. The driver knows what to do.
I hung up the phone and moved.
Every step felt surreal, like I was walking through a dream I never thought would come true.!!
Freedom was so close I could taste it.
And this wasn’t the kind of escape where I had to run. scared and sobbing.
This time–I was walking out on my own.
I crossed the street, heart pounding.
The black limousine was parked exactly where he said it would be. Tinted windows. Polished doors. A man in a cap stood beside it, holding the door open X
“Miss Alicia,” he said with a small bow.
I didn’t speak. I didn’t need to. I slid into the seat, and the door shut behind me.
The windows muted the world. The scent of fresh leather filled the air. The driver started the engine.
