She packed her bags, only taking necessities. She supposed she could send for the rest of her belongings later if need be. Though, if she were honest, she didn't care if she started from nothing all over again. She had never cared much about material things anyway. Otto could have anything and everything in the house, she didn't care in the slightest. As long as he did not have her, she would be happy. She would be quite excited to make her own clothes again.

They had stayed one more night in Vienna, mostly due to the fact that she had slept most of the prior day away. She was thankfully thinking a bit more clearly after sleep, but she had a headache that simply would not go away. Her ears were ringing, and her thoughts felt a bit scattered. She supposed all were expected with a concussion, but she was still taken by surprise. She supposed she wasn't too familiar with such things in general, but she no longer disagreed with the doctor that something was in fact wrong. She rolled her eyes and smiled to herself, as if her agreement made any difference.

She walked into her closet, pushing a few hat boxes out of the way and taking a stack of unopened letters from their hiding place. Even though she had no idea about the contents of the letters, they were her most important possessions. She would finally find the courage to read them, knowing that she hadn't lost the love of her life after all. He was just in the bathroom taking a shower before their trip. She would never be foolish enough to let him go again.

She did feel quite puzzled that Otto hadn't returned to the house, or even called at least. He always seemed so remorseful when they'd had an argument of any kind, especially when he had become physical with her. She supposed he must have known in his heart that there would be no coming back from their most recent altercation. Or at least she hoped he knew. She would have had to be completely mad to take him back at that point.

Sighing to herself, she took one of the hat boxes from the shelf and carried it to the bed before bending down and pulling her old carpet bag from beneath the dust ruffle. She smiled at the sight of it, the memories of everywhere she had taken the bag, always quite empty, but always memorable. It belonged to her mother, as she recalled her father packing her clothes in it before he sent her away as a small child. She didn't know much about her mother, but she always felt that she was carrying a part of her with her when she carried the bag. It made her feel as if she had an extra confidence behind her, even in times when she truly had none.

She felt a bit guilty for it as she opened the hat box and began moving the money she had saved back into her bag. It wasn't that she had intended to hide money from Otto, not at first, anyway. It would be cleaning out a purse here and there, or finding leftover money in her dress pocket after a trip to town. She had simply tossed it in a hat box that was on the floor at the time and moved on, intending to just take it with her next time she needed it. It was hard to determine when she began filling the box with a purpose. Part of her wondered if she had somehow been planning her escape from him for much longer than she realized. It didn't matter, she was taking the money with her to start her new life.

She closed her suitcase, smiling a bit to herself as she realized that all she needed was a few things from the bathroom, and she would be ready to go. While the circumstances left a lot to be desired, she was terribly excited to return to the children, to the villa. She loved the children, the staff, the location, literally everything about the villa. Not to mention, she loved Georg. She couldn't stop herself from excitedly wondering what would happen between them next. It was clear that they both planned to spend the rest of their lives together, she just wasn't sure how to make that a reality. There were a lot of pieces that needed to be picked up in her life before they could ever truly be together. She was quite afraid that his superior reputation would be ruined when word got out about the nature of their relationship.

She sighed as she sat down at her dressing table, avoiding her reflection in the mirror, and taking out a piece of paper and pen. She knew she didn't necessarily owe her husband a thing in that moment, but she did feel it was common decency to make her feelings clear to him. She wrote him a quick letter, certainly not disclosing where she was going, but making sure to let him know that his lawyers would be hearing from her own soon enough…hopefully Georg could recommend someone. She was finished with their marriage, once and for all. She truly didn't care if she ever saw his face again, even though she knew it would never be that easy. She folded the letter and wrote his name on the outside of it before taking it to his bedside table and propping it up upon a lamp. She thought for a moment before pulling her wedding ring from her finger and laying it next to the letter. She would not be needing it any longer.

She sat upon the edge of the bed, sighing once more to release some of the tension in her body. She felt tired, and her headache was beginning to really get to her. She supposed she needed to take something for it, but that would mean leaving her bedroom, and she wasn't certain she could do that just yet. She felt like a coward for it, but she didn't want to face the staff, the room where their argument took place…Liesl. She had no idea what she was supposed to say to her. She could barely look at herself in the mirror, let alone face the eyes of the poor, innocent girl who didn't deserve to see such darkness.

"Are you alright?" She jumped to find Georg standing in front of her, dressed and ready with a look of concern upon her face.

"Yes." She smiled, standing and making her way toward him as he pulled her into a hug. He chuckled a bit, fully happy to have her in his arms, no matter the circumstances.

"You are a terrible liar."

"I think I've heard you say that before." He laughed, and she cuddled closer to him. "I just have to grab a few things from the bathroom, and I'm ready when you are."

"Perfect, we'll head out soon then." He paused for a moment, simply holding her as she seemed to need. It was obvious she had too much on her mind to discuss at the moment, but he knew one thing that was nagging at her the most. "You have to face Liesl eventually."

"I know."

"I promise, she does not see you any differently."

"I'm just so embarrassed…I'm ashamed that she witnessed it, that I brought her here to witness it. I should have…" She was interrupted by a gentle kiss to her lips, and she gave him a small smile as he pulled away and met her eyes.

"Let's focus on moving forward, my love. We'll take it day by day." She nodded, knowing he was right, but never quite having the confidence she needed on her own. But she knew it was time for her to take the initiative and put on a confident face.

"I'll grab my things from the bathroom, and then I'll go speak to Liesl." He kissed her once more, proud of her for not allowing another moment to pass without speaking to his daughter.

"Good. I'll take your bags downstairs."

"Thank you." She smiled, grabbing a few things from the bathroom before closing her last suitcase. She ran a hand over his back in gratitude as she passed him, making her way out of the bedroom to find Liesl.

He sighed in relief as he gathered her bags in his hands, quite surprised by how few bags she was taking. He noticed there were quite a lot of dresses in her closet that she was leaving without a care in the world, and he wondered if she was simply trying to keep her packing light for the sake of their travel. Though, knowing her as he did, he was more inclined to believe that she truly and honestly couldn't have cared less about the nonsense she was leaving. She was leaving her entire life behind without batting an eye, it seemed.

He loved her with every ounce of his soul, but for the life of him, he couldn't shake his own nerves at bringing her home with him. He hoped he would feel better once they were on the train, as they drew closer to Salzburg and home. Home…he wondered if she would think of the villa as home. She had certainly always acted as if she belonged there, he mused, but he was quite serious in his thoughts. She was another man's wife, after all. She had a home and a life that he had been absent from for months.

He felt the nerves jump again in his stomach at the thought: she was another man's wife. Not only had he completely shattered the bonds of her marriage and taken her to bed, he had carelessly flirted and teased her nearly nightly over the phone for the past two weeks. He was madly in love with her, desperate to make her feel his love in every way he could, and she didn't belong to him in the slightest. He felt dreadful for his own role in the destruction of her marriage, and he knew that he had to take responsibility for his own actions. It didn't matter what the circumstances were in her marriage, he never should have crossed that line.

But he had crossed that line, and she had been more than willing to throw caution to the wind and meet him right on the other side of that line. He knew her guilt ran very deep, and he knew she was a better person than either of them appeared at the moment, but it did make him a bit nervous all the same. He was nervous that perhaps he was simply a way for her to get out of a bad situation. Perhaps she didn't love him in the way she used to. She had left him twice before, as she reminded him herself just the prior morning. No, he knew better than that. He was simply being paranoid by every little thing, he knew.

He carried her bags down the stairs, ignoring the lingering glances from the maids he met along the way. He could only imagine the gossip that would take place the moment they left, he thought with a smile. Gossip amongst the staff was one thing, but he was not sure either of them would be prepared for the conversation that would surround them once word of their affair started getting around. He had no doubt it would get around, no matter how discreet they would try to be. There could have been a maid who knew way too much, Otto could decide to play the victim, it would get out soon enough. Not to mention the fact that suddenly she would be living at the villa with him and the children, her husband hours away. How would that look? What on earth would they tell the children?

He did wonder where Otto was hiding at the moment. The fact that he hadn't bothered to call and check on his wife's well-being made him feel even more hatred for the man, which he sincerely wasn't sure was possible. He must have known just how much trouble he would be in if he showed his face anywhere near her at the moment. Did he know that another man was by his wife's side, in his house…sleeping in his bed? The way the butler looked at him as he walked through the house, he knew in his heart that a message was being passed along somehow, or at least soon would be. The way that no staff offered to help him carry her bags let him know exactly who gave the orders in the house. Of course, he knew Maria did for herself and did as she pleased, so he couldn't have expected much different.

He sat down her bags by the front door and took a seat on a plush lounge chair as he waited patiently for her and Liesl to join him. It was time to go home.