**Diary Entry**
He came back for what he thought was his… but it was too late.
I was just about to go to bed when the doorbell rang unexpectedly. Standing on the doorstep was a man I never expected to see again.
“You?” I gasped, swinging the door open.
There stood my ex-husband—James. The same man who had walked out a year and a half ago, slamming the door behind him, leaving everything behind for some young fling.
“Me,” he smiled. “Mind if I come in? It’s not like I’m a stranger here.”
I stepped aside. Whatever he wanted, there was no avoiding this conversation.
“I’ve got a proposal for you. Doubt you’ll refuse,” he said with a smug grin, settling onto the old sofa as if it still belonged to him.
I listened in silence. With every word, my eyes widened. A proposal? Sell the flat I’d been living in with our daughter since he left, so he could buy himself a new place. The same flat he’d willingly signed away, playing the gentleman back then.
“You said you didn’t want anything from it. You left it all behind,” I reminded him quietly.
“I was in love then,” he dismissed with a wave. “Things are different now.”
I exhaled deeply. The man in front of me wasn’t the James I’d once loved. He’d become a stranger—greedy, desperate. He demanded, threatened, manipulated.
“I won’t be selling anything,” I said firmly. “This flat stopped being yours long ago. And it’s not Margaret’s anymore either. She signed it over to me before you married your new little darling.”
James shot to his feet.
“You wormed your way into her trust! Buttering her up, playing the devoted one—I see what you were after!”
“I wasn’t after anything. I just didn’t abandon a sick old woman—unlike you. And yes, she wanted it this way. Her choice, not mine.”
He paced like a caged animal. He’d lost. He’d expected to waltz in, make demands, and get his way. Instead, he’d leave with nothing.
“You were always selfish!” he spat on his way out.
“And you were always a coward. One who never understood love,” I replied calmly. “Go. And don’t come back.”
He lingered at the door for a few seconds, as if waiting for me to change my mind. But I didn’t. Just closed the door behind him. For good.
Leaning against the cold wood, I shut my eyes. There was no pain in my chest. Not even anger. Only lightness. And suddenly, it was clear—this was just the beginning. Life without him. Finally, a life for myself.
