From Now On I Grow Toward Spring Chapter 17
My words seemed to stab him.
He grabbed my arm in a panic, then fumbled for his phone and started a FaceTime call.
“Talia, look. They really do miss you.”
On the screen, my parents looked years older.
The moment my father saw me, his eyes lit up.
My mother pressed her lips together, her own eyes red. “Talia, Mom misses you. When are you coming home?”
“I’ll go to the store and buy the freshest shrimp for you myself. I’ll cook it for you. Just come back, okay?”
My father sighed. “With you gone, this family is falling apart. Your sister is useless. Your mother and I were wrong. We’ll make it up to you.”
I suddenly wanted to laugh.
So they had always known.
It was just that before, they weren’t the ones being wronged, so they didn’t care.
I took a deep breath. “I’m not coming back. Take care of yourselves.”
Before they could say anything else, I ended the call.
Matteo stood there, holding the phone, staring at me blankly.
Only in that moment did he truly understand that I was never coming back.
“You have nineteen days,” I said.
“Don’t forget to sign the divorce papers.”
With that, I walked toward the parking lot with Ethan.
This time, Matteo didn’t follow.