He Watched Me Freeze Now He Begs For My Return Chapter 25
As spring neared its end, the house in Denver went up for sale.
The judgment in Paige’s favor, Robert’s legal expenses, and Elaine’s own attorney fees had drained the last of the money they’d used to maintain their facade.
Sarah sent me the real estate listing.
The living room in the photos was empty. The rug in front of the fireplace was gone. Two years ago, they had stood right there, holding champagne and applauding because I had passed their test.
The long dining table was gone, too.
All that remained was a darker patch on the wall where a huge family portrait had once hung.
The real estate agent’s description read:
“A warm family home filled with beautiful memories.”
I almost laughed out loud.
The day after the listing went up, Elaine had her lawyer contact mine.
She offered to transfer the house to me at a low price if I would first pay off her debts and allow her to keep living there.
“She says it’s your home, after all,” my lawyer relayed.
“It isn’t.”
I closed the listing page.
“It’s just a place I used to live.”
Elaine refused to accept that.
Over the phone, she cried to her lawyer that the house had always been meant for me, and that if I didn’t save it now, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
But I wouldn’t.
The basement door, the camera in the living room, the seat at the dinner table that was never mine—none of that was worth a single dollar to preserve.
In the end, the house sold to strangers.
On the day of the closing, Elaine stood alone at the front door with her luggage. Paige didn’t appear. Robert was still in prison. And I was two states away, getting on with my life.
She had once believed that no matter what she did, as long as she held on to that house, she could still order me to come home.
Now, even the word *homecoming* no longer had an address.
Sarah asked if I wanted her to collect any old things for me.
I thought about it.
“No.”
The things that were truly mine—my documents, my luggage—I had already taken with me on the train.
The rest had nothing to do with my life.