Beyond the Divorce

Chapter 11 A Pleasant Surprise

Ava seemed to cling to me more after the fall. She remained glued to me, and I could not move without her, which drove me crazy at times. Meanwhile, Matthew didn’t give me space to figure things out.

His work hours were punctual, and I had no room to pinpoint issues with him. Everything he brought back yielded no clues. I even began to question if I was hallucinating at times.

After finally putting Ava to sleep at noon, I realized we were out of fresh vegetables and fruits at home. Since Ava was fast asleep, I knew I had to rush to the market before she woke up.

The market was nearby, and I was too lazy to change my clothes, so I hurried out the door and aimed to return as quickly as possible. However, I was dumbfounded when I returned from buying groceries because I didn’t have my keys.

I pondered for a while and smacked my forehead in frustration because I must’ve forgotten to bring them when I left. I decided to call Matthew, and he answered in a hushed tone. Afterward, I explained the situation, and he responded, “I’m in a meeting and can’t leave. Get Mel to bring them to you.”

Another meeting? That excuse was consistent over the years. Since I had no choice, I called Melanie. She also had the spare keys, which would be perfect if I could get the ones she had borrowed.

picked up. There was a lot of commotion in the background, and her voice came through, “Chloe, what’s up?”

keys at home. Can you bring yours

do it,” Melanie responded swiftly, and then she shouted to someone

them from you,” I sputtered, seeing a

could reply, I heard someone talking to her on the other end, “Miss, can you

call

she had to go and see. Melanie had always been pampered, and people always handed things to her. I couldn’t understand why she would

always

couldn’t help but sigh as I leaned against the door helplessly. I feared Ava might wake up and get scared if she couldn’t find me. Ultimately, I decided to go

my keys. Since I would be there, I could

later, I rested my forehead in my hands and fell into deep thought. I wondered how I could

had made a fool of myself and regretted not changing before leaving home. I felt embarrassed to walk into a place like

hoping he could bring the keys downstairs and save me some dignity. However, he didn’t answer his phone, so I reluctantly entered the

I had to be quick, or Ava would wake up,