I looked toward the dark hallway where my children were sleeping and realized they had been trying to warn me for months. The woman who was willing to marry out of fear died in that moment, and a protective mother rose up in her place.
By two in the morning, I had two suitcases open on my bed and was packing only our most essential items. I grabbed our passports, birth certificates, and the small metal box where I kept my emergency freelance savings.
A text from Jasper lit up my phone asking me not to forget the signature on the family portfolio document. I put my phone on airplane mode and went to wake up the children for a surprise trip.
“Do I have to bring that itchy suit Jasper bought for me?” Toby asked with a serious expression. I told him to leave the suit behind and only pack his dinosaur and his favorite building blocks.
We left the house in my old sedan and I placed the keys under the doormat as a silent goodbye to the life he had fabricated. I drove for four hours until we reached a quiet motel where I finally opened the document Jasper wanted me to sign.