Chapter 9
First month after the divorce, I completely gut the house.
Out goes everything Derek left behind-his cold, sterile furniture, his obsessively organized spaces. I paint the walls warm cream and fill every room with plants and fresh flowers.
The balcony becomes my little garden paradise.
Sunlight pours through the windows, and suddenly the whole place feels alive.
For the first time, I have a real home. Not some contract-governed corporation, but a place filled with love instead of legal clauses.
I don’t rush back into the workforce. Instead, I give myself time.
I pick up painting again, something I loved in college. Sign up for oil painting classes and lose myself in colors and brushstrokes.
Then there’s baking. Watching flour and butter transform into something sweet and beautiful under my hands gives me a satisfaction no perfect housework checklist ever could.
My life becomes simple, peaceful, and genuinely happy.
One afternoon at the art studio, my phone rings.
t’s Angela.
Her voice sounds hesitant: “Jessica? Do you have time to grab coffee? I’d really like to talk.”
‘m surprised but agree to meet her.
At the coffee shop, Angela looks rough-tired eyes, nervous energy.
He’s gone,” she says, stirring her latte absently. “After the divorce, his reputation at the firm tanked. People were vhispering behind his back constantly. Last week he quit and left town. Starting over somewhere new.”
nod. Not shocking, really.
omeone as proud as Derek couldn’t handle the pitying looks and gossip after such a public fall from grace.
Before he left, he came to see me,” Angela continues, meeting my eyes. “He said he was wrong about everything. Said he always thought the perfect relationship was built on rational rules-that way you could avoid messy
motions and chaos. But losing everything made him realize how terrifying a relationship becomes when rules are ill you have left.”
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I’m on the Operating Table and You Venmo-Request HALF?! Die Mad Bro!
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I listen quietly, not responding.
“He also said…” Angela’s eyes get watery. “He wanted me to tell you he’s sorry. Especially about the baby.”
My chest tightens slightly.
But the pain isn’t the gut-wrenching agony it used to be. More like an old scar-a reminder of past hurt that also shows how far I’ve healed.
“It’s over now,” I say softly.
‘Jessica,” Angela looks at me with genuine admiration, “I really respect what you did. You showed me that a woman’s worth was never meant to be defined by some contract.”
She reaches into her purse and slides a bank card across the table.
‘Derek asked me to give you this. He said it’s for… the medical expenses after you lost the baby. The care costs he should have covered. He knows it’s way too late.”
I stare at the card for a long moment.
Then I push it back toward her.
‘Give it back to him.”
[ smile at Angela. “Tell him I don’t need it anymore. I can take care of myself now. And my new beginning.”
I
stand up and walk toward the door, sunlight streaming through the windows.
I know this is when my real life finally starts.
I’m not someone’s wife anymore. Not anyone’s second party.
‘m Jessica Blake-the only party that matters in my own life.
16:12
I’m on the Operating Table and You Venmo-Request HALF?! Die Mad, Bro!
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