Chapter Eleven
1160 Words
Chapter Eleven
(Nia’s POV)
“What?”
Adrian’s voice came out low behind me.
I didn’t answer.
There was nothing left to explain. Nothing I could say that would make him understand why I was done.
I turned away from him and walked to the closet.
For a second, I stood there looking at the rows of clothes that filled one side. Most of them had been bought because Heather thought a Blackwood wife should look a certain way. Dresses chosen for dinners I hadn’t wanted to attend. Shoes meant for galas where Adrian barely spoke to me.
None of it felt like mine.
I pulled a single suitcase from the back of the closet and laid it across the bed.
Then I started packing.
A few shirts. Jeans. Pajamas. The cardigan I’d bought for myself during my first winter back in the Caldwell family. My laptop. My charger. The toiletries on my side of the bathroom counter.
Only the things that belonged to me.
For a while, Adrian didn’t speak.
I could feel him standing behind me, his silence pressing against my back. I kept my hands busy, folding each piece of clothing carefully so I wouldn’t have to face him.
“Stop,” he said at last.
My fingers paused around a sweater.
I didn’t turn around.
“Think about this, Nia.”
I shook my head and placed the sweater inside the suitcase.
I was done thinking about him.
Adrian let out a slow breath. “You’re angry. I understand that. But you don’t have to make a decision like this tonight.”
My hands kept moving.
“It’s done. I answered your ultimatum.”
“Nia.”
“Adrian.” My voice was quiet. “I should have done this a long time ago. I just kept hoping you would give me a reason not to.”
The room fell silent again.
Then he said, “I can give you time. Take a few days to calm down and think this through. You don’t need to leave right away.”
He still thought this was a moment of anger. A threat I would take back.
“No,” I said.
He took a step closer. “You’re not thinking rationally.”
I closed my eyes for a second.
“You think I’m emotional because of what? My pride?”
“That isn’t what I said.”
“It’s what you meant.”
I folded another shirt and placed it in the suitcase.
“I’m not changing my mind,” I said.
I could still feel his eyes on me.
I refused to look back.
Because I knew I would break if I did.
I knew some part of me would search his face for regret. For proof that I mattered enough for him to stop me.
But I couldn’t let myself want that anymore.
A few moments later, I heard his footsteps move toward the door.
The sound of it closing behind him left the room strangely still.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
Then I sat on the edge of the bed and looked around.
This room had never been home.
I’d tried to make it one. I’d brought books from my old apartment and lined them on the shelves. I’d bought soft blankets and a candle that smelled like vanilla. I’d told myself those small things would make the house feel less cold.
They never had.
I got up and continued packing.
There wasn’t much to take.
My family had given me a place in their house after they found me, but they had never given me much that was truly mine. Adrian had never bothered with gifts either.
That wasn’t completely true.
My hands stopped over the jewelry box on my dresser.
Inside was the pearl necklace.
A single pearl rested on a delicate chain. Elegant and simple.
Adrian had given it to me years ago, before our wedding. At the time, I’d held it in my hands like it was the most precious treasure.
For years, I wore it every day.
Until I overheard Sienna speaking to one of her friends.
“The stupid pearl necklace Nia wears is a cheap version,” Sienna had said with a laugh. “Adrian keeps his mother’s real one locked away. That’s the necklace he’ll give the woman he truly loves.”
Her friend had laughed with her.
Sienna had continued as though she was sharing a harmless secret.
“Nia will never be that woman. She only has this life because her family found her. Otherwise, I would’ve married Adrian.”
I’d stood outside the room, unable to move.
The necklace had felt heavy against my throat that day.
I hadn’t worn it since.
My eyes moved to the small velvet box beside it.
My engagement ring.
I remembered the jewelry store. Sienna had been shopping for her birthday, and she noticed my bare hand.
“No engagement ring, Adrian?” she’d said brightly. “Your wedding is next week. Don’t tell me you forgot.”
She had laughed and slapped his arm like she had every right to touch him that way.
Adrian had looked over at me with surprise before telling me to choose something.
Hope had risen in my chest so quickly it had almost hurt.
I picked a simple solitaire emerald cut ring. No sparkle, just simple and elegant. What I thought he would like on me.
Then Sienna had gasped over it.
“It’s beautiful,” she’d said in a meek voice. “I wish I had a ring like that.”
Adrian gave it to her.
He picked up another ring from the counter and tossed it toward me.
“This looks fine. You can wear this for now.”
And I’d accepted the gaudy threes stone ring with a thick band.
I closed the jewelry box without taking either piece.
Neither belonged to me.
The only thing I placed in the suitcase was the ultrasound picture tucked inside my bedside drawer.
My babies.
The beginning of a life that would be mine.
I picked up my phone and called Gwen.
She answered on the second ring. “Nia? Is everything okay?”
“I need a place to stay,” I said. “Tonight.”
There was no hesitation in her voice. “I have an apartment close to your office building. It’s furnished, and the keys are with me. Can you meet me in an hour?”
“Yes.”
“Send me the address. I’ll be there.”
“Thank you, Gwen.”
I ended the call and zipped the suitcase closed.
It held a few clothes, my laptop, and one ultrasound picture.
I didn’t need anything else.
I pulled the suitcase behind me as I walked through the Blackwood Estate.
I didn’t look back.
By the time I stepped outside, I knew I wouldn’t be coming back here again.
- Writer
