Chapter 3 Not everyone will understand

Felicia hadn't cried at Jaden's mansion. Not when she left the hotel. But the moment the rusted gate to her childhood home creaked open, something inside her cracked. She dragged her suitcase across the gravel, the weight of her world trailing behind her like a broken promise. Everything looked exactly the same-her father's blue-painted porch, the neatly trimmed flowers by the door-but it all felt wrong. As if she didn't belong here anymore. She hesitated at the threshold, her palm hovering over the doorknob.

The cool metal was strangely comforting, like an anchor to a past she wasn't sure she wanted to revisit. The door creaked open. "Felicia?" Her father's voice floated out from the dim living room, laced with disbelief. He rose to his feet, his novel tumbling to the floor, and stared at her as if he were seeing a ghost. For a heartbeat, she couldn't speak. And then it all erupted. Tears-hot, wild, and unstoppable-poured down her face. Her father rushed to her, enveloping her in arms that still felt like home. "Baby... what happened?" Those three words shattered her. She sobbed into his chest, unraveling right there on the welcome mat, her body trembling as years of heartbreak spilled out in one breathless rush. When she could finally speak again, her voice came out hoarse. "I saw them. Jaden. Emily. In bed." Her father's face turned ashen. "No..." "I baked him a cake. A stupid cake," she choked, laughing bitterly. "And I found her heels at the bottom of the stairs. I still went up. I still wanted to believe it wasn't true. But it was." Silence. Then the sound of heels clicking against tile. "Are we seriously crying over a man cheating again?" came a voice like poison wrapped in perfume. Irene. Felicia's stepmother entered with her arms folded tight, her mouth twisted into a disapproving sneer. "Honestly, it's pathetic. So he slept with someone else. That's not a tragedy-it's a Tuesday." "Irene, enough," her father warned. But she wasn't done. "You always were too sensitive," she snapped at Felicia. "You'd rather throw away your future than forgive a man for one little mistake?" Felicia straightened, wiping her face. "It wasn't a mistake. It was betrayal." "And you think you'll do better?" Irene laughed coldly. "You think another man will treat you like a queen? You'll learn eventually-they all cheat. At least Jaden has money and status." Felicia's hands curled into fists. "You spoke to him?" "He called," Irene said casually. "I told him you were being dramatic. He still wants to marry you, by the way." Felicia flinched. "You defended him?" "Of course I did! That man is our family's ticket into the elite. And you want to toss him away over a pair of panties on his floor?" "That's enough!" her father barked, slamming his fist on the table. "She doesn't owe him a damn thing." But Irene turned her venom back on Felicia. "Then what's your plan?" she hissed. "Hide here? Cry forever? Or run like a coward again?" Felicia took a slow, deep breath... and smiled. "I'm leaving," she said simply. "To where?" Irene laughed. "Cape Town." Irene blinked. "You're joking." "I bought the ticket yesterday," she replied, voice calm now. "I'll build something from nothing if I have to. I'd rather start over than rot in a cage built by betrayal." Her father stared at her, stunned but proud. "You're really doing this?" "I have to." "And when you fail?" Irene sneered. "What then?" "I won't," Felicia whispered. "Because for the first time in my life... I'm choosing me." The next morning, her bags were packed. She hugged her father tightly at the front door. He pressed a worn envelope into her hand-money, and a note she wouldn't open until later. "If you ever need to come home, my door's open," he said, kissing her forehead. "I know," she whispered. From the shadows, Irene watched with icy silence. She didn't say goodbye. She didn't have to. Felicia stepped into the cab, heart pounding with fear, grief, and freedom. As the car pulled away, she didn't look back. She didn't have to. Because the past no longer had her by the throat. But just as the city skyline blurred in the distance... Her phone buzzed. Unknown Number. One Message. "Running won't protect you. We're not done "