The Divorce Pact

Chapter 4: Healing Wounds

The sound of waves crashing against the shore filled the morning air, carrying a sense of calm into the house. It was another peaceful day by the sea, yet the tension between the three women was slowly creeping in. On the surface, everything seemed idyllic. Lily, Kate, and Sarah spent their days unpacking, decorating, and embracing their new lives together, but beneath that, the weight of their struggles was starting to surface.

Kate was the first to notice the cracks. Sitting at the kitchen table, she absentmindedly stirred her tea, her thoughts elsewhere. The clink of the spoon against the mug seemed louder than usual, filling the silence as the three of them sat around the table in a rare moment of stillness.

“So,” Sarah finally broke the silence, “how’s everyone doing with... everything?”

Lily looked up from her coffee, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “It’s weird. I feel like I should be happy we’re here, that we’re starting fresh, but I can’t stop thinking about everything I left behind. The good, the bad… all of it.”

Kate nodded, though she didn’t say anything at first. She was having her struggles processing the end of her marriage, but talking about it felt like opening a wound that hadn’t quite healed.

“I think that’s normal,” Sarah said, trying to sound reassuring. “We’re all going through a lot right now. It’s going to take time to get used to this… this new life.”

Lily let out a heavy sigh. “I just want to stop feeling so broken all the time.”

There it was—Lily’s pain, laid bare on the table. Kate and Sarah exchanged a look, knowing that they were all feeling the same way, even if they hadn’t said it out loud yet. Moving into this house was supposed to be a new beginning, but the ghosts of their past lives still haunted them.

Later that afternoon, the three women sat on the beach, watching the waves roll in. It was becoming a bit of a ritual for them—sitting together in silence, trying to let the soothing sound of the ocean heal them. The sun was warm on their skin, the breeze light and salty, but there was a heaviness between them that the sea air couldn’t wash away.

“You know,” Kate began, staring out at the water, “I thought I’d feel free after the divorce. Like, I finally got my life back. But now… I feel lost.”

Sarah nodded. “Same here. It’s like I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

Lily looked down at her hands, the sand slipping through her fingers. “I thought I was doing the right thing. Leaving David, starting over… But some days, I wonder if I made a huge mistake.”

There was a long pause as each of them sat with their thoughts. It was clear that the road to healing wasn’t going to be easy.

As the days went on, minor tensions began to bubble to the surface. At first, it was little things—someone leaving the dishes in the sink or forgetting to buy more coffee. But soon, the underlying emotional strain started to take its toll.

Kate was the first to snap. She stormed into the living room one afternoon, clearly frustrated. “Can we please, for once, not leave everything to the last minute? I can’t keep living in this chaos.”

Lily, who was sprawled out on the couch reading, looked up with a frown. “What are you talking about?”

“This!” Kate gestured wildly to the mess around them. “We agreed we’d keep things organized, and now I’m the only one who seems to care.”

Sarah, who had been silently listening, chimed in. “Kate, we’re all trying. You’re not the only one dealing with stuff.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I’m saying, Sarah. I need some help around here. Is that too much to ask?”

Lily sat up, her irritation flaring. “We’re not your housekeepers, Kate. We’re all dealing with our crap, so cut us some slack.”

The tension in the room thickened, and for a moment, it seemed like the argument would spiral out of control. But then, Kate’s shoulders slumped, and she sank into the armchair, defeated.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean to snap at you guys. It’s just… everything feels out of control right now, and I don’t know how to handle it.”

Lily and Sarah exchanged glances, their frustrations melting away. They understood where Kate was coming from—they were all struggling to find a sense of stability in their new lives.

“It’s okay,” Sarah said softly. “We’re all under a lot of stress. Maybe we need to cut each other some slack, too.”

Lily nodded in agreement. “Yeah. We’re not going to figure this out overnight.”

The three women sat in silence for a moment, the weight of their shared experiences hanging between them. It wasn’t easy, but they knew they had each other, and that was something.

That night, they sat together on the back deck, watching the stars twinkle above the ocean. The argument from earlier seemed distant now, replaced by a sense of quiet solidarity. They weren’t perfect, and neither were their lives, but they were here. Together.

“You know,” Sarah said, breaking the peaceful silence, “for all the chaos we’ve been through, I’m glad we’re here. I don’t know if I could do this alone.”

Kate smiled, her earlier frustrations forgotten. “Same here.”

Lily nodded. “We’ll figure it out. One way or another.”

As the night wore on, the three of them continued talking, sharing stories from their marriages, their fears about the future, and their hopes for what might come next. Slowly but surely, the healing process had begun. It wouldn’t be easy, and there would be more tensions along the way, but they had made it this far. And that was something worth holding on to.