Chapter 3: A New Beginning.

SHARON'S POV.

By the time I returned to my parents' house, I had cried until there were no tears left.

My mother didn't ask questions when she saw me, she just opened her arms and I walked straight into them.

She held me against her chest, running a hand through my hair as I tried to keep myself together.

"You're going to be all right." She whispered.

I wanted to believe her but sitting in the living room where I'd grown up somehow made everything worse.

This was home.

The place I always came back to when I had nowhere else to go. I had never felt as alone in my life as I did in that moment.

The home I knew for the last three years wasn't mine anymore and there was no Christian waiting for me.

No marriage to return to.

No future I'd spent years building in my head.

I'd told my parents everything, from the divorce to the argument to Cassandra's phone call.

Now, Dad sat across from us and his expression darkened with each word. "Why would he do this to you?" He asked.

I gave him a tired look.

"I wish I knew."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. This was the hardest part.

My Dad genuinely blamed himself.

I knew why.

He'd been there when Christian's father first suggested the marriage.

Years ago, after Christian returned from Boston, his father had spoken to mine about finding a suitable wife for his son and it was my Dad who suggested me.

He thought he was giving me a future.

At the time, he believed Christian was the perfect man for his daughter. He had watched that boy grow up alongside me.

He trusted him.

And he knew how much I loved him.

What he didn't know was that loving Christian would cost me so much.

"I should never have suggested your name," Dad said quietly.

"You didn't know." I shook my head.

"But I should have." His eyes dropped. "I knew how much you loved him. I thought he'd take care of you." He continued.

"So did I." A bitter smile crept to my lips. 

For the next few seconds, silence filled the room.

"You made the right decision by leaving." It was my Mum who later broke it and I looked at her.

"Did I?" My voice cracked.

"I still love him."

If it was the right decision, why did it feel so wrong?

"I know." Mum reached for my hand. "But loving someone doesn't mean you have to stay where you're being hurt." She said.

I swallowed a hard lump down my throat.

I knew she was right. Maybe I wasn't just ready to accept it.

"If you stay here, every corner of this house will remind you of him. Every street. Every restaurant. Every place you used to visit together." She continued after a pause.

I knew exactly what she meant.

This town was filled with memories and Christian was tangled into almost all of them.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked her softly.

"Leave." Dad suddenly stood. I batted my lashes at him.

"Leave?"

"Go to Los Angeles. You've wanted to move there for years." My heart skipped as he walked towards me. "Acting was your dream before Christian came back." Dad's voice softened.

"You wanted a career. You wanted to see what you could make of yourself. You wanted a life outside this town."

"I couldn't just leave." I muttered beneath my breath.

"Why not?"

"Because..." I looked away.

"Because you didn't want me to." His expression immediately changed. "I didn't want you to leave because I was afraid." He replied. "I was afraid that you'd go out there alone and get hurt."

"But keeping you here didn't protect you, did it?" He crouched in front of me and I couldn't answer.

"I spent years thinking I could protect you from everything," He said. "And look where that got you." His voice became rough.

"If leaving this place is what you need to become happy again, then go." I looked at my Dad.

"You really mean that?" I stared at him with disbelief.

"I do." He replied, taking my hand in his.

"You've spent enough time waiting for Christian." He added. That sentence stayed with me because it was true.

Eight years.

Christian had left for Boston and built an entirely different life. He hadn't waited for me. He hadn't looked back.

Yet I spent all those years believing that when he came home, we'd somehow become the people we were always meant to be.

Maybe it was time I stopped waiting.

"Your father is right." Mum gave me a small smile and I looked between them. "Maybe a new city will help you remember who you were before all of this." She added.

I took a slow breath.

Then I nodded.

"I'll go."

The words surprised even me but if there was one thing I knew, it was that I needed some space.

"Good." My Dad said before disappearing into his study.

When he returned, he held two envelopes and handed them over to me. I opened the first and it was a one-way plane ticket to Los Angeles. The second was cash.

Just about enough to help me get settled.

"Did you seriously have these ready?" I looked at him and Dad laughed. "Your father may be old-fashioned, but he's not unprepared." He said and he pulled me into a hug

"You're unbelievable." I wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you."

For the first time since the divorce, I felt something other than heartbreak but when it was finally time, Mum didn't take it lightly.

"Oh, sweetheart." Her eyes filled with tears as she hugged me tightly. "I know it's only Los Angeles, but it feels so far away." She said and I smiled against her chest.

"I'll call every day." I whispered.

"Promise?"

Agnes was there too. She'd wanted to come with me but the decision happened too quickly. And Los Angeles wasn't exactly a place you could casually pack up and move to overnight.

By evening, my bags were packed.

Everything happened so quickly that I barely had time to process what I was doing.

One moment I was sitting in my childhood bedroom and the next, I was standing inside the airport with a suitcase beside me.

"I'll miss you." Mum hugged me again.

"I'll miss you too." I said.

I pulled away and looked at both of them.

My parents.

My home.

The only life I'd ever known.

A strange ache settled in my chest at the thought of leaving behind everything familiar. And despite how badly I wanted a new beginning, I was terrified.

What if I failed?

What if I couldn't make it as an actress in LA?

What if I regretted leaving?

All these questions raced through my mind with doubt but I knew deep down that staying was worse.

I hugged them one last time before walking toward the gate.

When I boarded the plane, I finally allowed myself to breathe. I found my seat by the window and stared down at the airport.

Mom and Dad were still standing there.

I raised a hand and they waved back.

Then I turned away.

Once the plane took off, I pulled out my phone and my thumb hovered over Christian's name.

A ridiculous part of me still expected him to call.

Maybe he'd realized he'd made a mistake. Maybe he'd ask me to come home. Maybe he'd tell me Selene meant nothing and he'd finally say the words I spent years waiting for.

I checked my messages.

But nothing.

Of course there was nothing.

The last message between us was the one I'd sent after signing the papers.

*Goodbye, Christian. You won't ever see me again.*

I stared at it for a long time before turning off my phone.

"Goodbye, Christian." I muttered beneath my breath and this time, I meant it. I had no idea what Los Angeles would bring but I knew I needed to start over.

For the first few days after I got there, I thought I had made the right choice. I found a small apartment and I started looking into acting opportunities.

I explored the city and tried to build a routine.

But something felt wrong.

At first, I blamed the stress but then came the nausea and the exhaustion and then the dizziness.

I couldn't keep food down.

After nearly two weeks of feeling sick every morning, I finally went to a doctor. I sat in the examination room, nervously twisting my fingers while the doctor reviewed my results.

He looked up from the paper in his hand and there was something in his expression that made my stomach drop.

"Sharon."

"Yes?"

He placed the paper on the desk.

"You're pregnant."

In that moment, everything stopped.

My hand instinctively moved toward my stomach as the word echoed inside my head. It didn't take long for the memory to resurface.

The one night I spent with Christian Lockwood before everything fell apart.

My throat tightened.

"It's his." My lips parted and I could barely hear my own voice.

The doctor looked at me but I was no longer looking at him. I was staring at nothing.

"It's Christian's baby."