When I stepped out of the solicitors office, my legs felt like they might buckle. I walked down the high street as if in a dreamno car horns, no voices reached me. One thought thumped in my head: Theyve taken everything from me.
That evening I opened the old wardrobe and pulled out a battered box of photo albums. The pictures showed me, Peter and Eliza at the cottage, at birthday parties, on the seaside. We were smiling, we were young. In one frame the three of us were clasped together; I was beaming, she had her hand on my husbands arm.
At the time it had seemed a friendly gesture. Now I saw in it everything I had ignored.
I didnt sleep for three nights. I lay staring at the ceiling until not a single tear remained. On the fourth morning, when the first shafts of light filled the room, I stood up and said aloud:
Thats enough.
I gathered every piece of paperworkcontracts, receipts, bank statementseverything that could prove the cottage was bought with my own money. I remembered every pound I had ever put into it.
Back then I had thought we were a family and that the name on the title deed didnt matter. Now I knew it matteredgreatly.
The same day I went to a solicitor. He listened calmly, leafed through the file and said:
The case isnt simple, Miss, but there is a chance.
A chance is all I need, I replied. I wont give up.
A week later Peter called. His voice sounded as if he were talking about the weather.
Molly, theres no point in fighting. Lets face this maturely.
Face it maturely? I echoed. He cheated on me with my best friend and took my home. Is that what you call maturity?
Dont dramatise it. You always made an elephant out of a fly.
Youll see, Peter, I whispered. This time Ill create something from nothing.
In the meantime I found work in a small pharmacy in the town centre. It was tidy, smelled of herbs and antiseptic, and though it wasnt my dream, it was a start. I went home each evening exhausted but with the clear feeling that I had purpose again.
The neighbours whispered, of course.
Poor Molly, what a shame!
Did you hear? He left her for his lover!
I merely nodded and kept walking. Let them chatter. Let them think Im weak. Better that wayno one would expect revenge.
Two months later the court called.
The hearing is set for Friday, Mrs. Thompson.
My heart leapt. That night I didnt close my eyes. Their faces, their false smiles, that hollow tenderness haunted me. In the morning I slipped into a blue dressthe same one Peter once said:
Youre still as beautiful as ever in that dress.
I looked at myself in the mirror.
Yes, but Im not the same woman, I murmured.
In the courtroom the opposing side sat side by side, hands barely touching, eyes alight with a haughty confidence that they had already won. I took my seat opposite themno makeup, no mask, just dignity.
My solicitor began.
Documents, photographs, bank extracts.
Eliza scoffed:
Your Honour, love isnt measured in money or deeds.
The judge looked sharply at her:
Madam, this is not a matter of love. Its about ownership.
In that instant I felt a sweet sort of vindication. For the first time in months I smiled.
Two weeks later the verdict came. The cottage was ruled mine. The others had to vacate by the end of the month.
When I stepped back into the house, a foreign scent greeted menew curtains, fresh furniture, but the walls the walls were still mine. I threw open the windows, breathed deeply and whispered:
Home, Im back.
A few days after that, Peter appeared at the gate with a bouquet of cheap roses.
Molly, can we talk?
Theres nothing to say, Peter, my voice was steady. Some words cant be taken back, just like some people.
I shut the gate behind him.
Time dulled the sting. I planted an apple tree in the garden and set a bench beneath it. Each evening I sat there with a cup of tea, listening to the wind rustle the leaves.
Sometimes I thought of Elizanot with hatred, but with the cool calm that settles when a chapter ends.
I learned a hard truth: when youre betrayed, it isnt the end. Its the beginning of a new road. From the ashes of humiliation and silence, I was reborn. Now I know who I ama woman who will never again let anyone take her life away.
