My jaw drops a little bit at what the woman said. Oh man, my worst fear is about to come true. I'm going to face my manipulative, abusive husband in court and there's no way that I can escape it. Things are coming towards me faster than I can handle them. I don't know if I will be able to handle seeing his face again in court, but I have to muster up the strength and face up to what I fear most so that I can be rid of his presence for good.

I take a deep breath, and say, "Excellent! What news do you have for me?"

I look at Lara and Elena, and they just nod. "We have set your court date for the trial against your husband, Colin Mitchell. It will be on February 18. Is that okay?" she tells me.

I gulp a little bit, and nod. "Perfect. Thank you," I tell her.

"You're welcome. You have a great day," she tells me. Without another word, I hang up, almost slamming the phone down on the receiver. I let out a huge sigh, and press my fingers to the bridge of my nose. The day is coming. Faster than I can process. Soon enough, it'll be here, and I'll be having a mental breakdown.

"Well? What happened?" Elena asks. Lara comes over to me, and slides an arm around my shoulders. I flinch at the sudden contact, and when Lara realizes what she's done, she steps away.

"What's going on?" she asks me. I let out a huge sigh, as Elena makes her way towards where I'm standing. When she heads over to where I'm standing, her hand brushes against a glass. The glass falls off of the table, and to the ground. It shatters into a million pieces, with a loud, "SMASH!"

The sound rings against my ears, and is the trigger for all the worst things. The sound of breaking glass is like the key that lets the bad memories out of their cage, and swarming in my mind. The memories of narrowly avoiding the glass that was thrown at me due to Colin's violent rage soars through my mind.

My heart beat starts to accelerate rapidly, and slowly, I crumple towards the ground. "Oh dear gosh. Elena, clean up the glass. I got her," Lara instructs, as she rushes over to my side.

My breathing become rugged and irregular, as I begin to feel extremely hot. The iron fist presses on my chest, restricting my ability to breathe. "NO! PLEASE! DON'T HURT ME!" I scream, as Lara's hand goes to my back.

"Breathe! Breathe! He's not here!" Lara tells me, as the iron fist refuses to be lifted. In fact, it presses down on my chest even harder than the last time.

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO PAID OFF TO HIM! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! HE WON'T DO THIS TO ME! HE WON'T HAVE HIS WAY WITH ME FOR AN HOUR!" I scream, as another kind of unwanted memories flood in to mix with the ones that are barging in right now.

These are the memories that are a result of the experience that I don't want to tell my family. These memories remind me of a time that I just couldn't fight back, and I was basically being handed off into my doom. I don't want to relive those memories, and yet, they decide to have their way and come and intrude on this messy subject.

Eventually, the iron fist is slowly lifted off of my chest, and I'm snapped back into reality. I'm finally allowed to breathe, and I can finally fight off the memories that have come to invade my sense of slight tranquility.

Elena comes back, and she kneels down to where I am. "He... paid you off? Don't you tell me that he....," Elena says, with disbelief wringing her face. My jaw tightens at the mention of that. With tears filling up my eyes, I just nod my head slowly.

Both Lara and Elena's eyes start to fill up with tears, with Lara's bottom jaw quivering. Both of them just lean in and wrap their arms around me. Lara starts to sob in my arms, while I can feel hot tears running from Elena's side onto my back.

"Why... why didn't you tell us?" Lara asks, with her voice as broken as a glowstick, and with that, the tears I've been holding back are set free. I collapse into their arms, and I start to sob as well.

"I.. couldn't. It was so painful for me to relive. I just couldn't," I sob into their arms, as they continue to comfort me.

After sobbing in their arms for a while, the thought hit me. Despite the thought infecting my mindset throughout the whole marriage, it was slowly being squashed by the actual reality. I wasn't alone. Throughout my marriage, I was convinced that no one was on my side.

Since nobody knew about it, I thought nobody was on my side. I was already convinced that nobody was on my side in general, because of Colin's harsh words against me. Now, as I'm being comforted by my sister and my sister in law, I realize that they wouldn't do this if they weren't on my side.

They've been with me since day 1, and I know they'll be there until the last day. I was so scared of telling them about that secret, because it's hard trusting someone after being convinced that they won't support you. And yet, here we are. It feels like someone lifted a huge weight off of my entire body. I can't go around hiding that secret, but it's still not a fun secret to be let out. I feel weirdly vulnerable after telling that secret. Probably because it was so personal, and because I had such a hard time telling Elena and Lara.

When we finish crying any sort of liquid out of our eyes. Elena and Lara use their shirts to wipe the tears from their eyes. "Now I know why you were so paranoid about me reading ahead in your memoir. You didn't want us finding it out, because it was such a hard thing for us to bring up about you," Elena says, with her voice still shaky.

I nod, as I wipe my eyes with my fingers. "Yeah. It's not a fun things to think about," I tell her. She nods.

"I feel really bad about prying into your business, Nicole. I'm so sorry," Elena tells me.

I shake my head. "It's fine. But, this is a bold move on my part. I was thinking about the publishing thing a little bit, before I had the panic attack. I was considering what could happen with it, and the possibilities that it offers. I've decided that I want to get my book published," I tell Elena. Elena's eyes widen, as well as Lara's, and both of them flash each other a warm smile.

I just shrug my shoulders and look at them with a raised eyebrow. "That's great news, Nicole! I actually have a decent idea of the publishing process, because of the fact that I have a lot of friends in the field, so I know exactly what to do. So, take some time to polish up your manuscript, so that it's not too mistake-riddled, and then we can move from there," Lara says, and with that, I nod.

"Sounds good," I say, and stand up so that I can get a glass of water. I stand up, as Elena and Lara continue to go through the boxes to see what's inside.

As I fill up my glass, I hear Elena say faintly, "oh no." I turn my head a little bit, and raise an eyebrow. "Everything okay?" I ask, as Elena pulls out an old book. The cover is clearly made of leather, and is a bit rugged, but I can tell that it's a diary.

"Nicole, this is the Wicked Witch of the West's diary," Elena says, with a cautious look in her eye. My jaw drops at that revelation. I didn't even know that she had a diary. She's the last person I would've expected to keep a diary, but here we are. A part of me wants to snatch that diary and read through all of her entries, but at the same time, I don't want to, because of the fact that there could be some things that I don't want to see in there.

My eyes widen at the book in Elena's hands, and all I do is shake my head and back away. "I don't want to read that. You can but I refuse. I'm not reading in the Wicked Witch of the West's journal, thank you very much," I say, and I turn swiftly on my heel to go back into the room so I can take a shower in the bathroom.

As I let the hot water run down my body, I contemplate my decision on not wanting to read her diary. She's done so much to make my life miserable, and reading through her inner thoughts is going to be torture for me as a whole. But, at the same time, a part of me wants the answer to a question that has been bugging me for a long time.

Why was she so cruel towards my family? What was the reason that caused her to hate me? Why would she carry that hate for so many years? All of these questions could possibly be answered in her diary, but I'm too scared to find out. I don't want to relive her cruel torture again through the form of her diaries.

But, I want to find out the answers to my questions. My emotions are conflicting in the worst possible way right now, and I don't want to make this any worse. For now, I guess, it's just time to prepare myself just in case I do want to read what's in her diary.

**********

(The next week.....)

"So, how's college going so far? Enjoying the last semester?" I ask Nina, as I hear her writing things down over the phone. Nina gives me a reassuring, "hmph," and lets out a sigh.

I scroll through my manuscript on the computer, and continue to listen to her struggles. "Man, it's torture. All the papers, studying, and notes is seriously giving me a headache. How about you? How's things going with Ash?" Nina asks me, as I continue to polish up my manuscript.

I shrug. "Nothing interesting, honestly. I'm probably going to go back to his house to chill with Em and Isa, and have some dinner with them. I'm not sure," I say, and I tweak a little sentence in the ending of one of my paragraphs.

I feel Nina nod on the end of the line, and I hear her write something else on the end of the line. "That's great. Plus, Ash seems awesome, along with Em and Isa, so I hope you guys have a great time. Say, I have to go, but I'll talk to you later, okay?" With that, I nod.

"Sure thing. Later," I say, and with that, Nina returns my goodbye, and I hang up. I lean back on the sofa, and continue to edit and type up the last of my manuscript. I'm letting all my attention focus onto this document where I wrote my heart out and I didn't stop. I'm very excited to be able to share my work out to the public, but I'm also extremely scared, because I have no clue how it's going to do. I guess time will tell.

While my fingers are dancing across the keyboard, the phone rings one more time. I pick it up, and say, "hello?" I rest it between my shoulder and ear, and continue to prance my fingers across the keyboard.

"Nicole?" Dom's familiar voice asks across the phone.

I raise an eyebrow. "Yep, that's me. What's up, Dom?" I ask, and I tuck a lock of blonde hair behind my ear. I feel Dom's excitement resonate from the other end of the line, which only makes me more excited. Because when Dom is excited, that usually means that there's amazing news waiting to be shared.

"You got the job," he says, in one swift saying. My jaw drops like someone pulled it open by a latch. My eyes bug out like someone pushed them out from the back of my head. I hear Dom chuckle from the other end of the line.

"Are you serious?" I ask, and he chuckles a little bit more.

"Yes, I'm serious," he says, and I can't help but chuckle myself. I can't believe that I got the job. I can't believe that someone with as much experience that I have would get the job. Most importantly, I didn't think I was capable enough to be able to get the job like that.

But, somehow, I was able to, and here I am. One step ahead in life, and one more step towards getting my wings back. "I-that's amazing, Dom! When do I start working?" I ask, and I hear Dom writing something down on the pages he has in front of him at work.

"Boss says that you can start the following week. Sounds good?" Dom asks me, as I nod profusely.

"Yes, yes! That's perfect!" I say happily, to which he replies with another chuckle.

"Sweet. See you when we get home, okay?" he tells me.

I nod. "See you soon," I say, and with that, I hang up. I flop back on my sofa and just smile to myself because of this achievement. I can't believe that this is happening. I'm slowly rebuilding myself, although it's a gradual process. I'm excited to see  what's going to happen in the future when it comes to my rebirth.

I spend the next half hour editing my manuscript pretty thoroughly. I want it to be as mistake-free as I can, so that it's got a good chance of making it into the outside world for publishing.

While I'm editing my novel, I get another phone call. Without thinking, I pick it up, and say, "Hello?" I again rest it in between my head and shoulder, while still attempting to edit.

"Nicole!" a cheerful, yet familiar voice says over the phone.

I smile, as I continue to type. "Emily! How's it going?" I ask, which leads to a somewhat tired sigh.

"I'm tired. Looking for jobs is like trying to kayak with one arm. But, I'm doing it. How's it going for you?" she asks.

I shrug. "Oh, nothing much. Just doing some other work not related to the job I just got!" I say excitedly, which leads to a gasp.

"You got the job? No way! Ash is going to be so happy!" Emily squeals, like someone just proposed to her.

I chuckle. "Really? Somehow, I don't believe that," I say, and with that, Emily gasps.

"Are you serious? When Dominic told Ash that you were planning on joining, he got so excited! He wouldn't stop talking about it! He's going to be so excited to hear you're joining!" Emily assures, which causes a smile to spread across my face.

I can't help but snuggle up on my sofa and imagine Ash's enthusiasm to me joining the company. Just thinking about his happiness is already starting to warm my heart in this very frigid weather.

"That's the sweetest thing that I've heard today. Ash really does care about me, doesn't he?" I ask Emily. I hear Emily give me a reassuring, yet happy "hmph," which causes an eyebrow of mine to raise.

"Yes, Nicole. He really does care about you. I actually have to thank you in an instance. Throughout your marriage, when our dad and Colin would get too drunk to understand any basic form of English at family dinners, he really appreciated those heart to heart conversations you guys had. He was going through a pretty rough time, with Colin and our dad treating him like the dirt you'd find at the bottom of your shoe. You made him believe that he had one more person on his side. You gave him the confidence booster and the happiness in his life that he was seriously lacking. Sure, I like to think Isa and I filled that void pretty nicely, but you tied everything together. You were just that missing piece of the puzzle that was found. You played a bigger part in his life than you realize. I really do thank you, Nicole. You kept my brother happy," Emily says, with her tone changing to a serious, yet grateful one.

I relax my shoulders a little bit at Emily's revelation. To know that I play such a pivotal role in Ash's life is something that I never imagined myself to see. I didn't expect to play a role in his life, and it doesn't help that Ash has definitely moved his way into my life as well. It feels surreal to know that fact.

"Wow. Emily, I don't know if you realize this as well, but Ash also played a very important role in my life as well. When Colin was abusing me throughout the marriage, I had a lot of heart to heart talks with Ash, and that really kept my sanity in check. I really owe Ash a lot for that," I tell Emily, and she smiles.

"See? You guys played such a crucial role in each other's lives. Consider it, Nicole. You guys are kind of meant for each other. And quite frankly, I don't mind having you as a sister in law again," Emily says, and I smile at her compliment.

"That's sweet. Thank you. But, I have to get my annulment from Colin first. Then, we'll see. Let life take its course, I guess! But yes, I wouldn't mind having you and Isa as sisters in law. At all," I say, and Emily chuckles a little bit at my little appreciation moment.

"You're cute. But, speaking of Isa, I want to tell you something. So, Isa is going back to college in a few days, and we want to have a little get together on Saturday before she goes off and tortures herself a bit more in NYU on Sunday. She wants you to come along as well. Also, and to my benefit, Ash isn't here, so let's keep this one between us. So, the week that your job starts also happens to contain the Sunday that Ash's birthday is on! Ash is a sucker for brownies, as you probably know. So, I was planning on doing a huge baking thing where we make Ash a toffee cheesecake, his favorite kind of cake, and extra fudgy brownies with some almonds mixed in. Ash already made plans with his friends, with your brother included, so that's gonna give us plenty of time to have some fun and bake some things. Do you want to help me?" Emily asks.

I'm not really paying attention, because all those options sound so delicious right now. I'm slightly drooling because they sound so good, and I'm starting to crave them. Nothing beats a creamy cheesecake and brownies that ooze warm melted chocolate when you bite into them.

"You know, that sounds like heaven. I'm down. Let me know of the timings and then I'll come and help you out," I tell her.

I feel Emily smile over the phone. "Of course. Ash gave me your number, so I'll text it to you. For now, I guess I'll see you next Saturday! Take care, okay?" Emily says.

I smile. "You too. Bye," I bid, and with that, I hang up. After hanging up the phone, I lean back a little bit and reflect on the conversation. Ash credits me for staying happy and for keeping his head up high. That, to me, is one of the best compliments I've ever received. To know that I played such a role in his life really makes my day.

Now, I can't wait for the hang out at his house.

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Ah, a little bit of an everything chapter. So what do you think is in Tanya's diary that would make Nicole not want to read it? Let me know

Hey everyone! How are you all? So, I have a question. For all the writers out there, what day do you think is perfect for updating? Let me know.

Other than that, that's it. Hope you all liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all next Saturday with a new chapter of Phoenix! Have a great week!

Love you guys,

Shree