Chapter 14
“Tania?” I gasped, stunned.
My daughter stood before me, wild–eyed, her
chest rising and falling like she had just
sprinted ten miles–rage vibrating off her in
waves. Her fingers were still tangled in my
hair, yanking slightly, as if she couldn’t
believe I was real.
“So this is where you’ve been?” she snapped,
voice sharp like broken glass. “Here. Dressing
- up. Smiling. Dating someone?! While you left
us behind? Left dad behind?”
11:29 AM Tue 24 Jun
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
45%
I stared at her. My throat tightened. “Tania, it’s
not what you think—”
“Don’t,” she spat. “Don’t try to play innocent.
Aunt Donna was right. You were cheating on
Dad. You’re a liar. A fake. A bitch!”
The word sliced into me like a hot knife. My
eyes widened, and just as she raised her
hand again to grab my hair–I acted.
I slapped her.
:
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
The sound cracked through the corridor, sharp and loud. Her head jerked to the side, and for a second–just a second–she looked like a little girl again. Shocked. Hurt.
Confused.
And I… I heaved. My hand trembled from what
I’d done.
I should’ve done it years ago.
But I loved her too much.
Even when she stopped loving me.
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
Even when she looked at Donna like she was
her mother.
I remembered the nights I stayed up sewing
her dresses for recitals. The mornings I made
her favorite waffles shaped like hearts. The
way she used to cling to me and call me her
“forever home.” We were once inseparable.
Once.
But then college came.
And Donna.
11:30 AM Tue 24 Jun
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
45%
God, it was my fault. I thought I was being
kind–letting Donna take her to movies, to
brunches, when I was too busy running my
small bakery and building my little corner of
joy. I didn’t see it happening… didn’t realize
my own child was being pulled away from
me, strand by strand, like thread unraveling in
the wind.
By the time I noticed, I was no longer “Mom.” I
was just… Trina. And Donna? She was
everything I had once been.
Even Jackson stopped looking at me the
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
same way.
“You slapped me,” Tania breathed, stepping
back with trembling lips.
I looked at her, eyes burning. “And how dare
you treat me like I’m not your mother?”
Tania’s mouth opened, but I wasn’t done. The
dam broke. Everything inside me–all the pain
I buried, all the love turned to rot–it came
crashing out.
“You don’t know what I’ve gone through,” I
11:30 AM The 24 Jun
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
whispered, voice cracking. “You don’t see. I
gave up everything. I left my father, my
inheritance, my home, because I loved your
father. I chose him when everyone told me
not to. And for what? For him to forget my
birthday every year? For him to walk into a
room and look right past me like I’m air?”
Tears welled in my eyes, and I didn’t bother
wiping them.
“I sat alone at dinners. I watched Donna host
every family party like it was her house. I
watched you two laugh together like I never
existed. You think I’m cold? That I left? You
11.30 AM Tue 24 Jun
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
left me first, Tania. You just didn’t bother
packing a suitcase.”
She stood there frozen, but I kept going,
because if I didn’t speak now–I’d never get
the chance.
“No one cared when I cried. When I broke. No
one noticed when I started disappearing
inside myself. Not your father. Not you. I was
invisible in my own home. Donna could do no
wrong, right? She always brought the gifts,
told the jokes, whispered lies into your ears
when I wasn’t around.”
11:30 AM Tue 24 Jun
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
“She wasn’t lying!” Tania snapped. “She told
me you were cheating. That you hurt Dad-”
“She stole your father from me!” I shouted,
voice echoing. “And you believed her! You
chose her over me without asking me once
what really happened.”
“She’d never do that,” she hissed.
“Then go to her,” I said coldly, voice
trembling. “Go back to your father. Go back to
the woman who taught you how to hate me.
Because I’d rather be alone than live another
11:30 AM Tue 24 Jun
5.45%0
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
day surrounded by a family who looks at me
like I’m nothing.”
I turned away before she could respond,
because I wasn’t sure what would happen if I
saw her cry–or worse, if she didn’t.
“I’ll tell Dad!” she shouted behind me. “He’ll
know everything you said!”
I didn’t stop.
Didn’t turn back.
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
I ran.
Out the doors. Past the hotel lobby. Into the dark night where cold air hit my lungs like a
slap.
45%
I kept running until I reached the side of the
building, clutching a concrete pillar like it was
the only thing holding me together.
And then I broke.
I crumbled to my knees, gasping, sobbing into my hands like I hadn’t allowed myself to
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
in years. Every breath hurt. Every memory
clawed at my insides like wild animals. Why?
Why wasn’t I enough?
“Trina!”
Mateo’s voice.
Warm hands pulled me into an embrace. He
knelt down beside me, holding me close,
letting me collapse into his chest.
“Shhh,” he whispered, stroking my back. “Let
it out. I’ve got you. I’m here.”
70
11:31 AM Tue 24 Jun
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
I cried harder, my fingers digging into his
coat, afraid if I let go, I’d disappear altogether.
“They all hate me,” I choked out. “Even my
daughter… She hates me, Mateo.”
“No,” he said firmly. “They don’t hate you.
They just don’t see you.”
“I’m tired,” I whispered. “I’m so tired of proving
myself. Of being strong. Of pretending I’m
okay.”
11:31 AM Tue 24 Jun
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
He pulled back slightly, cupping my face. His
eyes were soft, but serious.
“Then don’t be alone anymore.”
I blinked.
“Marry me, Trina.”
I stared at him, shocked.
He smiled gently. “Not just for the business.
Not for your father. For you. For us. Show
them that you don’t need them to survive.
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
Show them you’re not broken. Let me stand
beside you, not behind you. I swear—I will
never hurt you.”
His lips brushed my forehead, then my nose,
then-
He kissed me.
Slow, grounding, real.
And in that moment, for the first time in years,
I didn’t feel invisible.
11:31 AM Tue 24 Jun
Let’s Divorce, My Husband
I felt seen.
Wanted.
Loved.
4570
