Chapter 13:

Julia had run. She had run as fast as she could. She had caught her carriage and had arrived at 10:20 p.m. in front of her house. She had succeeded. She had arrived before 11:00 p.m. and it was perfect. She quietly opened the door and found the house plunged into darkness. She was happy to know that her two girl loves were already in bed and that everything had finally gone very well.

She slowly climbed the stairs so as not to wake her children, then opened the door to the master bedroom.

"Where were you?"

Julia literally broke down. She looked up at the voice and found her husband sitting on the bed, his head in his hands.

"Where were you?!" he suddenly yelled as he abruptly got up from the bed.

The young woman took a step back, her face completely livid at the appearance of her husband. The red and bloodshot eyes, the messy hair, and the deadly gaze.

"Answer!"

"Stop…Stop, you'll wake the kids up, Ethan." Julia stammered.

"I don't care Julia. I don't fucking care! You really take me for a fool, huh!" the doctor got even more annoyed.

Julia backed away again, completely frightened when her husband stood so close to her that she could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"You were having sex with a man that's it! I know it!"

"You're scaring me Ethan, please calm down...I just went for a walk on my own, nothing serious..."

"You're lying to me…I see you're lying to me, bitch!" he almost spat in her face before slapping her hard.

Julia let out a moan and held her cheek in shock for a few moments, her eyes watering with tears. She looked up at Ethan, who was frozen in place at his own gesture, his face broken by what he had just done.

His eyes filled with tears of regret, and he reached out to try to reach his wife who jerked back.

"I'm leaving you Ethan…I can't take it anymore. I don't want to live with you anymore. You never considered what I wanted. What I wanted to do ME!" she exclaimed. "I want to be a doctor! It was my dream. I can't wait to hear you talk all day about how lucky you are to be a doctor! Of your meetings and your surgeries. I'm sick of you forcing our girls to have the same shitty life as me! That you don't want them to do what they want with their lives. I'm leaving Ethan. The slap… never, never, never will I allow any man to lay a hand on me. That's too much."

Julia whirled around and tried to leave the room when Ethan grabbed her wrist.

"No... wait Julia, please... don't go. I didn't want to hit. It will never happen again, I promise you. I beg you, stay. Remains. If you want, I won't talk about my meetings anymore."

"You don't understand anything… You don't understand anything…" Julia muttered as she tried to free herself from her husband's grasp.

"Where are you going…? What would you do without me anyway, huh?" he tried to put her off.

"I'm going to go where you guessed so well…"

Ethan froze again, fire coursing through his veins as he understood the meaning of the words she had just spoken.

Julia ran up the stairs to try to reach the exit and suddenly heard her husband join her.

"Who is this asshole! Who is that bastard?! I will catch him, and I will kill him! I'm going to kill him Julia, you hear me?! Tell me who he is!"

Ethan slid down the stairs and landed on his butt just below, crying as Julia rushed out of the house. She ran as quickly as possible to her carriage and gave William's address that he had given her one day.

Rosemary and Emily sat on the bed in the eldest's bedroom, in a tight embrace, as they listened to their father cry downstairs. The two sisters had been very surprised not to find their parents at home on their way home from school. Their governesses had kept them informed of the absence of their parents due to a charity evening. But such was not their surprise when, once at the table, their father showed up unexpectedly, his face beaming at having finally returned earlier.

"Where is your mother?" he asked.

"The governesses told us she was with you, dad." Rosemary replied very confused.

Things then happened very quickly. Their father immediately changed his mood and his face fell. He had turned livid and that was when Rosemary and Emily also realized what was happening. Their mother had lied at the office to go and join her lover with whom they had surprised her the night of the party at the Perkins. And, obviously, their father had understood that too.

He had then quietly sat at the table with them and had not opened his mouth for the whole dinner. He had hardly eaten anything, but he had poured himself several glasses of wine. He had climbed in silence and there had been no more noise. The two sisters had gone to their respective rooms and fallen asleep, although agitated by the situation they were just beginning to experience. It was just the beginning, and they were right to think so.

Later that night, they had heard screams coming from their parents' bedroom. Emily had come straight out of her quarters to run into her big sister's. Rosemary opened the door to her and directly took her and hugged her very tightly to calm her down. She had cried on her shoulder, and she had tried to stay strong, even though she too had tears in her eyes. What would become of them? What was going to happen to them?

"Mom is gone…" Emily lamented.

"She will come back. I promise you."

Note: Thanks to those who continue to read my story. I hope you still like it.