I pushed the door open, feeling a strength I didn’t know I had. It creaked loudly, and they both turned toward me, their eyes widening in surprise. Jason’s mouth fell open, his eyes darting over me like I was a ghost.
“Maggie…” he breathed, his voice calm, too calm, like he’d been expecting me.
“Jason.” My voice wavered, but I held his gaze.
I glanced at the woman, then back at him. “What is this?” My heart felt like it was breaking all over again. “Where have you been?”
He glanced at the woman beside him, who just stood there, looking at me like I was the one out of place.
“I was…trapped, Maggie. That life wasn’t me. Out here, I’m free.
I can breathe. I’ve found something real, something I couldn’t have…back there.” He gestured vaguely to the woods, as if that was his new life.
I stared at him, barely able to comprehend it. “You left us,” I said, feeling my voice crack.
“You left your kids, Jason. They think you’re dead. I thought you were dead.”
He looked down, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I…I know it’s hard to hear. But I’ve become one with nature now. Sarah and I…we’ve built a life.
A simple, meaningful life.” His words sounded empty, robotic, like he’d convinced himself of this story so many times he believed it.
I took a step back, feeling the anger boil over. “So that’s it? You just walk away from everything?
From your family? You didn’t even try to let us know you were okay?”
He closed his eyes, sighing deeply, like I was the one causing him pain. “Maggie, you wouldn’t understand.
That life felt like a prison. Now, I’m living it to the fullest.”
“A prison?” I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. “Is that what we were to you?”
“Maybe if you weren’t so obsessed with your cursed technology, you could come worship nature like we did,” Sarah hissed, looking at me like I was a lunatic.
Jason opened his mouth to speak, but I raised my hand, cutting him off.
I didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to listen to his empty excuses or hear how “free” he felt now. I wanted to scream, to cry, to tell him exactly how much he’d shattered our lives.
But looking at his empty, detached expression, I knew it wouldn’t matter.
He’d made his choice long ago.
Without another word, I turned and walked out of that cabin. I didn’t look back. I didn’t need to.
The Jason I loved was gone. Maybe he’d been gone long before that day he disappeared, and I was just the last one to realize it.
The walk back felt longer, heavier. Every step was one more reminder that I was leaving a piece of my life behind, a piece I’d never get back.
I barely noticed the trees, the growing shadows, the ache in my legs. My mind was numb, my heart hollow.
Back home, I wasted no time. I walked straight into a lawyer’s office the next morning, barely able to say the words, but knowing I had to.
“I want a divorce,” I said, my voice stronger than I felt.
“And I want support. If he has any assets, my kids deserve them.”
The lawyer nodded, looking at me with sympathy. “We’ll make sure you and your children are taken care of, Maggie.”
As I left, a strange calm washed over me.
I’d spent years waiting, grieving, and wondering if Jason would come back. But I finally understood that he wasn’t coming back, and even if he did, he wasn’t the man I’d once loved.
Now it was my turn to choose. I needed to make a life for my children rooted in love, stability, and honesty.
Jason had taken one path, but I was taking mine. And I was never looking back.
Do you have any opinions on this?
Source: amomama
