Page 1 of Loving Violet
Chapter 1
Violet
“Adrian,put your phone down and look up,” I chide my son. “You are missing the view. You need to notice more than what’s on that phone screen. Look out your window and check out the view! It’s incredible!”
“But Ma…” He tries to complain, but I pluck the phone that his father recently purchased for him and toss it into the backseat along with the rest of our stuff.
“Nobut’s. I know that you don’t care about the scenery, but you never get views like this in Maryland,” I tell him.
The breathtaking beauty of the landscape is the first thing that captivates my attention while driving through the Blue Ridge Parkway to our new life. As we ascend the winding road, my ears pop from the change in altitude, a reminder of the height of these towering mountains. I can't stop marveling at the way the Blue Ridge Mountains, or the great old Appalachians, appear to be cloaked in a soft, bluish hue, earning them their fitting name.
The bright, blue sky is adorned with fluffy clouds and the hot sun casts a warm glow on my pale skin. This serene scene is something I truly missed when I moved from my hometown of Sweet Springs, North Carolina to Maryland with my now ex-husband, Taylor.
At the beginning of our relationship, everything was perfect.
I was living my dream life. Coming from a small town in rural North Carolina, I met this wonderful city boy during my freshman year of college at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and fell head over heels in love with him. We spent all of our time together, and I felt so lucky to have found the love of my life at such a young age.
When Taylor was a senior and I was a junior, we decided to move in together. It seemed like the natural step for the both of us since we had been together for over two years by that point.
Taylor was majoring in business and had plans to start his own real estate company back in his home town in Maryland. I was majoring in marketing and had big dreams of becoming the next big thing in the marketing world. We were full of hope and ambition, ready to take on the world together.
Yet, fate throws out curve balls. By the end of my junior year, I found out I was pregnant, and being only twenty-one, I felt incredibly unprepared to become a mom. So, it wasn't just a surprise, it was a shock.How in the world was I supposed to finish school, get a job, and raise a baby?
Despite the uncertainty, Taylor and I were determined to make it work. I made the difficult decision to quit school and move to Maryland with him so we could start our family. The move to Silver Springs was exciting at first. I was in a new city and everything was different to me. Tyler took me to all his favorite places and we had fun. We got married right away.
I was thrilled to support Taylor’s dreams and jump on this new chapter of our lives together, now as parents-to-be.
With a lot of persuasion, Taylor convinced me to stay home with our son, Adrian.
I was happy and I loved spending time with Adrian, watching him grow. The beginning was perfect. A chubby baby slowly, but also too quickly, turning into a hyper toddler.
However, as time went by, Taylor's behavior began to change. He became overly controlling and verbally abusive. He never hit me, but his cruel comments made me feel less than worthless. He often told me I had changed and that I was no longer attractive. He always commented on my body and how I looked different after having our son. For him, I was fat and my boobs were saggy—something that he did not find attractive. I felt ugly and insignificant. And it didn’t help that he hadn’t touched me since Adrian started teething.
The city, once full of promise, had become a cage. Taylor's cutting remarks and constant belittling took a toll on my self-esteem. I felt trapped and lonely, far from the simplicity and support of Sweet Springs.
The strain of our demanding lives, his work, and mine as a stay at home mom, began to seep into our relationship. We started arguing more, and the love that once seemed so effortless, felt like a distant memory. With every argument and every remark about my body, I felt like I was in a never ending cycle. I wanted to break that routine we found ourselves in, but I didn’t know how to.
As the months turned into years, the gap between us widened. We were living together but felt miles apart; the spark we once had completely dimmed. Taylor stopped trying to pursue me pretty quickly and I gave up on trying to entice him. The love story that had begun so beautifully was unraveling. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't seem to find our way back to each other.
The final blow came when I discovered that Taylor was having an affair with a colleague. I noticed that he was coming home late every day. Then one day while he was taking a shower, his phone pinged with a message. When I grabbed the phone to take it to him, I saw the message from his secretary.
Candy: Can you hurry up. I am ready and waiting for you to fuck me senseless.
It shattered what little remained of my trust and love for him. I knew then that I had to leave. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made, but I knew it was the right one. I needed to start over—for myself, and for Adrian.
Returning to North Carolina felt like coming home after a long, exhausting journey.
This time, I was moving to Honey Springs, a small town an hour away from Sweet Springs where my family lives.
My best friend Josselyn offered me a place to stay, and I gratefully accepted.
The familiarity of the mountains, the warmth of the sun, and the kindness of the people reminded me of who I was and what I had been missing.
Josy, always the caring and supportive friend, didn't stop at offering me a place to stay. She generously extended a heartfelt invitation for me to work at her coffee shop during the mornings. With her offer, I saw an opportunity to not only contribute to the community but also to utilize my marketing knowledge to help her business grow. Things were really starting to look up for me and Adrian.
Turning up the radio, a familiar song that both Adrian and I enjoy plays through the speakers. Singing along to the tune, I daydream about my new job.
The prospect of working alongside Josy in her cozy coffee shop filled me with excitement, the kind that I have been yearning for since leaving my ex. This will be a chance to reconnect with my passion for marketing while immersing myself in the vibrant energy of Honey Springs.
