Chapter 3 The escape

Alice didn't remember crossing the garden or passing the rose bushes she planted. She didn't remember the cold marble floors or the heavy doors. She only remembered Steven's voice. "I want a real wife." "She isn't fit to be my partner." "Certainly not the mother of my children." The words echoed inside her like a storm. She clutched the pregnancy report as she stepped into the night. The air was sharp, almost painful, but honest-more honest than anything she had lived through in the last eighteen months. She flagged down a taxi. "Where to, ma'am?" the driver asked. Alice opened her mouth. Nothing came out. Where could she go? Not her parents. Not John. Not Vanessa. Not Steven. She whispered, "Airport." The taxi pulled away. She looked back once at the estate-warm lights, quiet windows, peaceful façade. It had never been home. She turned away. At the airport, she moved like a ghost. People rushed around her, unaware of the woman quietly breaking in the corner. "Destination?" the agent asked. Alice stared at the list of cities. She didn't choose a place. She chose a feeling. "Florence." "One-way?" She nodded. She didn't know if she would ever return. She sat at the gate, hugging her bag, staring at the report. Eight weeks. Eight weeks of hope. Eight weeks of imagining a future that didn't exist. She pressed a hand over her mouth to stop the sob rising in her throat. She didn't cry loudly. She didn't collapse. She didn't scream. She simply sat there, letting the truth settle. Steven didn't want her. John didn't care. Her parents didn't miss her. She had no home. But she had a child. And that was enough. When the plane landed, Florence greeted her with warm air and soft sunlight. She found a small bed and breakfast near the river. Sofia, the owner, handed her a key without asking questions. Alice entered the room, placed the pregnancy report on the table, and touched her stomach gently. "I'm here," she whispered. "I'm here with you." Her voice trembled, but her heart steadied. She lay down, closed her eyes, and for the first time in years, slept without fear. Back at the Whitmore estate, Steven stood in her empty room, staring at the space she once filled. For the first time in his life, he realized something he had never considered: Alice wasn't waiting for him. She wasn't depending on him. She wasn't here. She had left. And she wasn't coming back.