Page 13 of Broken Trails
“Nothing is right now,” Jeff says, his tone matter-of-fact. “But you’ll get through it. One step at a time.”
I swallow hard. “Thanks, Jeff.”
“You can thank me when this is over. Remember, he’s not walking away with everything. You worked for that life, too, Zoe. Don’t just hand it over because he throws a tantrum.”
His words sting because they cut too close to the truth. For years, I convinced myself I had everything—the city life, the dream job, the sprawling apartment with its glass walls and breathtaking views. I thought Liam was part of that dream.
My husband. My partner. My supposed everything. But behind closed doors, the cracks had always been there. Late nights spent crying quietly so he wouldn’t hear. Conversations that felt like navigating a minefield, one wrong word enough to set him off. And now? Now I have nothing. Or at least, that’s how it feels.
Jeff clears his throat. “Look, I know this is a lot. But you’re doing the right thing, Zoe. Liam’s grip on you? It’s over. He doesn’t get to win this.”
“Yeah,” I whisper, though my voice betrays my doubt.
“Good. I’ll call you tomorrow after you’ve had a chance to look everything over. And Zoe?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not alone in this. Remember that.” The line goes quiet, and I’m left sitting in the too-small living room, the weight of his words settling over me.
My phone vibrates on the coffee table, the screen lighting up with a name that makes my chest tighten:Dad. I sigh, dragging a hand through my hair before snatching it up.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Zoe,” he says, and the warmth in his voice cracks something in me. “Where are you?”
“Somewhere I can breathe,” I reply, staring at the peeling paint on the villa wall.
“You should come home,” he says, like it’s that simple.
“No,” I say quickly, sharper than I intend. “I just… I need space right now. To figure things out.”
“You can do that ‘ere,” he presses. “You don’t have to do this alone.”
“I can’t be around Mum.” My voice wavers. “Not right now.”
He sighs heavily; the kind of sigh that makes you feel like a teenager again. “I’m sorry. For the way we reacted. Especially your mother. It wasn’t fair.”
“No, it wasn’t.” The bitterness in my tone is hard to suppress.
There’s a pause, and I know what’s coming before he says it. “What really happened, Zoe? Why did you leave him?”
I close my eyes, leaning back against the couch. “It wasn’t working,” I reply vaguely. “We weren’t… right for each other.”
“Not right for each other?” he repeats, his tone disbelieving. “Zoe, that’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one I have right now, Dad,” I snap, my patience thinning.
Another pause. “You know, the day you married him, I had a feeling,” he says quietly.
“Here we go,” I mutter under my breath.
“I’m serious,” he continues, unbothered by my sarcasm. “I knew something didn’t sit right with him. But you didn’t want to hear it.” He chuckles through the speaker. “You know, this isjust like that time I told you not to sneak out to that party in year twelve and you ended up grounded for a month,” he says dryly.
“Oh, come on.”
“Or when I said no to you buying that used car from a dodgy bloke, and it broke down a week later?”
“Just say it, then,” I snap, gripping the phone tighter. “Say ‘I told you so’, Dad. It’s on the tip of your tongue. I know it.”
