The Beginning of the End

Austin

The rain came down in torrents, each drop soaking into my clothes as I walked, my feet sinking into the mud beneath me. My skin was chilled, but my body burned with something more intense than the cold, a fire deep in my gut that I couldn’t extinguish, no matter how hard I tried. My eyes were hooded, tired from lack of sleep and too many late nights spent trying to figure out what went wrong.

*What’s happening?*

I asked myself that question repeatedly as my feet squelched in the mud. My wife, Evelyn, had left our home days ago without much of an explanation, and now, out of the blue, she called late last night. Her voice was strained, clipped. Her parents wanted to see me. Urgent, she said.

Urgent?

My head pounded from too many thoughts racing through my mind. What could be so urgent? Was she sick? Had something happened to her? I asked myself.

*No,* I reminded myself bitterly. She didn’t even tell me why she left. And now, she’s suddenly calling me to her parents’ house like I’m a servant who can be summoned whenever they please.

I clenched my fists as I walked, the cold rain dripping from my knuckles. The last time I’d seen Evelyn, she was walking out the front door without even glancing back.

And now... now I'm here, on my way to face her family. My in-laws, wealthy, powerful, and never approving of our marriage. This could only mean one thing.

Something was about to go terribly wrong.

I reached the towering steel gates of their mansion, the metal gleaming even through the downpour. I knocked hard, the sound echoing in the quiet, rain-soaked air. My head throbbed with the rhythmic pounding of my heart.

The gate opened slowly, revealing Pablo, their muscled gatekeeper. He was the same as always, stone-faced, expressionless, his massive frame a silent warning to anyone who dared approach.

“Morning, sir,” I greeted, trying to sound polite even though my insides were a mess of anxiety and frustration.

Pablo barely glanced at me. “What do you want, mister?” he asked, his voice flat, unimpressed.

“I’m here to see my in-laws,” I said, my voice firmer than I felt. I had to remind myself that, despite everything, I'm still their son-in-law. For now.

“Do you have an appointment?” Pablo asked, his eyes narrowing.

I clenched my jaw. “They sent for me,” I replied, barely containing my annoyance. “Who are you to ask if I have an appointment? I’m Austin Mike, Evelyn’s husband.”

The words tasted bitter as they left my mouth, because at that moment, I didn’t feel like her husband. Not anymore.

Pablo stared at me for a moment, then turned away without a word, disappearing behind the gates. I waited in the rain, feeling like a fool, soaked to the bone, and with nothing but my racing thoughts for company.

What is going on? Why couldn’t Evelyn call me herself? What could her parents possibly want from me now?

Minutes passed, though it felt like an eternity, before Pablo returned. He stepped aside, motioning for me to enter.

“They’re waiting for you,” he said gruffly, but there was something in his eyes, a flicker of pity or maybe just indifference. I couldn’t tell.

I walked through the gate and made my way up the long driveway. The mansion loomed ahead, massive and pristine, a stark contrast to the storm raging outside. It felt wrong, walking up to that house. I had always felt out of place there, even when Evelyn and I were happy.

*Were we ever really happy?*

I shook the thought from my mind as I approached the front door. My heart pounded harder with every step I took. There was no turning back now.

The door swung open as soon as I reached it, revealing Evelyn’s father, Mr. Gerald, standing tall in the doorway. His sharp eyes scanned me from head to toe, his expression cold. He looked just as he always had, like a man who believed the world owed him something, and he would take it whether or not it was offered.

“Come in, Austin,” he said, stepping aside. His voice was smooth, calm, but I could sense the tension beneath it.

I stepped into the grand foyer, the warmth of the house doing little to thaw the ice that had settled in my chest. Evelyn’s mother, Mrs Gerald Margot, was seated in the living room, her posture regal, her face a mask of disdain.

I knew this wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation.

“Sit down,” Gerald said, motioning to the couch across from Margot. I obeyed, though every fiber of my being wanted to turn around and leave.

They sat in front of me, an impenetrable wall of wealth and authority, and I suddenly felt small, insignificant. I hated that feeling.

“We’ve asked you here for a reason,” Margot began, her voice cutting through the silence like a knife. “Evelyn has made her decision.”

My heart skipped a beat, a sickening feeling spreading through my gut. “What decision?”

Gerald reached into a folder on the coffee table and pulled out a stack of papers. He handed them to me without a word, his eyes never leaving mine.

I took them, my hands trembling slightly as I unfolded the top sheet. My eyes scanned the words, and my blood ran cold.

Divorce papers?

My wife had signed divorce papers?

“No,” I whispered, my throat tightening. “This... this can’t be right. I need to speak to Evelyn.”

“She’s already made up her mind,” Margot said, her voice devoid of any sympathy. “There’s nothing left to discuss.”

My hands tightened around the papers, crumpling the edges. “I’m her husband,” I said, my voice rising with desperation. “We’ve been married for five years. She can’t just—”

“She can, and she has,” Gerald interrupted, his tone final. “It’s over, Austin. She’s moved on. Now it’s time for you to do the same.”

The weight of his words crashed down on me, suffocating. I felt like I was drowning, the room spinning as I tried to process what was happening.

Evelyn had left me.

She is gone, and I didn’t even get to say goodbye.

“I don’t believe this,” I muttered, shaking my head. “There’s been a mistake. I need to talk to her. I—”

“There’s no mistake,” Margot said coldly. “Evelyn doesn’t want to see you. It’s time for you to accept that.”

I stood up, my hands still gripping the papers. My heart was pounding in my chest, my thoughts racing, but all I could feel was anger, anger at them, at Evelyn, at the situation.

“I’m not signing this,” I said firmly, throwing the papers onto the coffee table. “I need to talk to her.”

Gerald’s eyes narrowed, his lips curling into a thin smile. “You will sign them, Austin. Or you’ll regret it.”

I stared at him, my heart racing. What could he possibly do to make this worse? He had already taken everything from me, my marriage, my future. What more could he take?

Margot rose from her seat, her gaze cold. “If you refuse to sign, we’ll make sure you get nothing, Austin. You won’t even see a penny from the settlement. No house, no job, no future.”

My stomach dropped. They were going to leave me with nothing. Less than nothing.

I had no choice.

With trembling hands, I grabbed the pen from the table and scrawled my name beside Evelyn’s. My vision blurred as I signed away the last five years of my life, the ink smudging from the rainwater still clinging to my skin.

It is over.

I tossed the pen onto the table and turned to leave, not daring to look back at the faces of the people who had just destroyed me. I pushed the door open and stepped back out into the storm, the cold rain stinging my skin.

As I walked away from the mansion, from the life I had once known, a single thought came calling in my mind:

*It’s not over.*

They may have taken everything from me, but I wasn’t going to disappear quietly. I wasn’t going to be erased like a bad memory.

I would rise from this. I would make them regret the day they ever crossed me.

And one day, they would all see exactly what kind of man Austin Mike had become.