A Path to Healing

A Path to Healing

Gavin

5.0
Comment(s)
View
11
Chapters

My mother, Susan, taught public school for thirty years. She loved her students and her job. Two years ago, she died, and my wife, Olivia, was my rock. Then at a company "Day of Service," I saw Olivia spoon-feeding an elderly woman. Olivia, who told me she was flying to California for a "wellness retreat." She looked up, and asked, "I'm sorry, do I know you?" I was left stunned, publicly accused of harassment, and suspended from my new promotion. Olivia returned home with tearful excuses, claiming she was secretly caring for Mrs. Peterson because she reminded her of my mother. But small, unsettling details – a discount body wash, our forgotten anniversary, a malicious serving of cilantro – chipped away at her story. Was I going crazy, or was Olivia deliberately trying to obscure the truth of her life from me? My heart pounded with a sickening dread. This wasn't just a distraction; it was a calculated, devastating betrayal. The final straw was a booking confirmation on her tablet for The Cascade Inn, a luxury hotel, for that very night. Cold fury turned to icy resolution. I knew her supposed "retreat" was a lie. I had to know who she was meeting. I grabbed my keys.

Introduction

My mother, Susan, taught public school for thirty years.

She loved her students and her job.

Two years ago, she died, and my wife, Olivia, was my rock.

Then at a company "Day of Service," I saw Olivia spoon-feeding an elderly woman.

Olivia, who told me she was flying to California for a "wellness retreat."

She looked up, and asked, "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

I was left stunned, publicly accused of harassment, and suspended from my new promotion.

Olivia returned home with tearful excuses, claiming she was secretly caring for Mrs. Peterson because she reminded her of my mother.

But small, unsettling details – a discount body wash, our forgotten anniversary, a malicious serving of cilantro – chipped away at her story.

Was I going crazy, or was Olivia deliberately trying to obscure the truth of her life from me?

My heart pounded with a sickening dread.

This wasn't just a distraction; it was a calculated, devastating betrayal.

The final straw was a booking confirmation on her tablet for The Cascade Inn, a luxury hotel, for that very night.

Cold fury turned to icy resolution.

I knew her supposed "retreat" was a lie.

I had to know who she was meeting.

I grabbed my keys.

Continue Reading

Other books by Gavin

More
When Love Turns to Ash

When Love Turns to Ash

Short stories

4.8

My world revolved around Jax Harding, my older brother's captivating rockstar friend. From sixteen, I adored him; at eighteen, I clung to his casual promise: "When you're 22, maybe I'll settle down." That offhand comment became my life's beacon, guiding every choice, meticulously planning my twenty-second birthday as our destiny. But on that pivotal day in a Lower East Side bar, clutching my gift, my dream exploded. I overheard Jax' s cold voice: "Can't believe Savvy's showing up. She' s still hung up on that stupid thing I said." Then the crushing plot: "We' re gonna tell Savvy I' m engaged to Chloe, maybe even hint she' s pregnant. That should scare her off." My gift, my future, slipped from my numb fingers. I fled into the cold New York rain, devastated by betrayal. Later, Jax introduced Chloe as his "fiancée" while his bandmates mocked my "adorable crush"-he did nothing. As an art installation fell, he saved Chloe, abandoning me to severe injury. In the hospital, he came for "damage control," then shockingly shoved me into a fountain, leaving me to bleed, calling me a "jealous psycho." How could the man I loved, who once saved me, become this cruel and publicly humiliate me? Why was my devotion seen as an annoyance to be brutally extinguished with lies and assault? Was I just a problem, my loyalty met with hatred? I would not be his victim. Injured and betrayed, I made an unshakeable vow: I was done. I blocked his number and everyone connected to him, severing ties. This was not an escape; this was my rebirth. Florence awaited, a new life on my terms, unburdened by broken promises.

You'll also like

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book