Chapter 5
The day I’d been waiting for finally came.
I practically ran to the County Clerk’s Office, my heart hammering as I clutched the divorce decree–the piece of paper I’d been dreaming about for years.
I read it over and over, letting each word sink in until the weight of ten years dropped from my shoulders. No more snapping to attention whenever Colton Hayes gave an order. No more enduring the Hayes family’s judgmental glares. No more picking at salads to keep up appearances or plastering on smiles at their stiff, soul–sucking events.
I was free.
Free to bungee jump, tear down a racetrack, travel wherever I pleased–free to do everything a “model military wife” wasn’t supposed
- to.
Outside, Chloe hooked her arm through mine and steered me straight toward the Rusty Spur, a rowdy dive bar with a mechanical bull in
the corner.
“Beer, barbecue, fried chicken–tonight you eat whatever you want,” she said with a wicked grin.
The smoky tang of grilled meat hit me, and for the first time in years, I felt alive.
We drank until the room spun, danced until our legs gave out, and laughed like maniacs in the parking lot- so hard that tears streaked down my cheeks. The chains I’d been dragging for a decade finally snapped.
Buzzed on liquor and freedom, I scrolled through my contacts, unblocked Ethan’s number, and hit call.
“Ethan Hayes,” I said, voice sharp, “you might not like me, but I’m still your mother. I nearly died giving birth to you. When you were sick, I was the one sitting up all night at your bedside. But the moment you called me ‘vicious‘ because of Vanessa, you stopped being my son and you don’t get to call me Mom anymore.‘
–
Colton’s voice came over the line instead, cold and cutting. “Madeline, what the hell are you talking about?”
I froze, then let out a bitter laugh. “Maybe keep a tighter leash on your kid, General. On his birthday, he told me to divorce you so Vanessa could take my place. That was the longest conversation we ever had. So congratulations–you both got what you wanted.”
I hung up and blocked the number again. Done. For good.
The next morning, head pounding from a hangover, I booked an international flight without a second thought. Once the divorce news spread, I knew my father would come storming in to drag me back to the Hayes house to apologize. Not this time.
I packed light, zipped my suitcase, and opened the door–only to find Colton standing there with Ethan, both looking tense under the thrum of helicopters circling Fort Sentinel.
“Ethan,” Colton said, voice low but firm, “apologize to your mother.”
Ethan’s shoulders hunched as he muttered, “I’m sorry, Mom. I shouldn’t have said those things or told you to get divorced, Will you forgive me?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said with a faint smile. I’d already said everything that needed saying. There was nothing left to tie me here.
Colton’s tone softened, rare for him. “I’m sorry, Maddie. I didn’t raise Ethan right. That’s on me.”
I almost laughed. An apology from General Colton Hayes–now that was a first. But one “sorry” couldn’t erase years of damage.
I handed him a small box I’d prepared. “If you really mean that, drive me to the airport. This is my parting gift to you. Open it an hour after I’m gone.”
He took it, brows knitting. “Where are you going?”
I smirked. “Why? Am I not allowed to have my own lite?”
He was the one who’d locked me in that cage years ago. Now he could be the one to open the door.
Chapter 5
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The drive to the airport was silent. As I turned to leave, Colton’s voice dropped again. “Come back soon, Maddie.”
I gave him a small, hollow smile and walked into the terminal without looking back, the flicker of defiance in my chest burning hotter than the ache beneath it.
I wasn’t coming back. This place had no room for my freedom.
At the airport, Colton waited with Ethan, the box still in his hands. An hour later, Ethan pried it open. Inside, the divorce decree lay flat
and final.
“Dad… this is the gift?” Ethan’s voice shook.
The words hit Colton like a bolt from the blue. His hands trembled as he remembered his friend Noah’s warning: If Maddie’s heart ever goes cold, she’ll leave you for good.
He started firing off texts:
[What’s with the divorce decree?]
[Is this some kind of joke?]
[Text me when you land. Ethan and I are worried.]
Every message went unanswered.
He called his aide, Lucas, who confirmed I’d booked an international flight with a connecting leg that couldn’t be traced. The decree? He’d signed it himself without realizing. I’d left with nothing–signing over every asset to Ethan as child support.
“Madeline… what the hell are you so unhappy about?” he muttered into the empty air of his study, the walls lined with Fort Sentinel commendations seeming to close in.
Then Vanessa called, claiming Ethan had been kidnapped. When Colton arrived, he found her at the Military Medical Center, holding Ethan protectively, scratches on her arms, her expression fragile and wounded.
The scene was picture–perfect, but something didn’t add up. Colton ordered a full investigation.
Within days, the truth came out–Vanessa had staged the kidnapping herself.
Colton stared at the evidence, silent and cold. Then he gave the order: “Bury it. Tell the public she saved Ethan. Then send her abroad- permanently.”
Vanessa’s tears came fast. “Colton, please, don’t do this-”
“I only looked after you because my brother asked me to on his deathbed,” he cut in, voice like ice. “I’ve never had feelings for you.”
Her face went pale.
No matter how hard she cried, he didn’t look back.
