After being reborn, I make up my mind to stop chasing after my husband and daughter

Chapter 11

Yvonne froze. It was the first time she’d ever seen Jared and me fight. Before, whenever we argued, I always gave in first to keep the peace. But today was different. I didn’t apologize or back down.

“Daddy, Mommy, please stop.” Yvonne burst into tears. She clung to Jared’s arm, wiping her eyes. “I don’t want you to fight. Please don’t do this.”

Jared looked at me, his voice cold. “Work isn’t negotiable. You can keep your little hobbies, but you’re not walking away from our family.”

He bent down, lifted Yvonne into his arms, grabbed her tiny backpack, and walked out.

I didn’t shed a single tear. To be honest, I wasn’t even mad. I had seen this coming.

“Mrs. Holcomb, are you okay?” Wendy and Joyce asked, voices worried..

I smiled, “I’m fine. Sorry about the mess–can you clean it up?” Then I grabbed my purse and car keys and left.

I drove around aimlessly, the wind whipping through the open window, lifting my scarf. Behind my sunglasses, my eyes started to burn.

I married a rich guy and lived this shiny. To everyone else, I should’ve been carefree and happy. And maybe I was, once. But I’d got stuck in my head, slowly falling apart.

I thought after that fight, Jared wouldn’t ask me to lunch. But around eleven, while I was sitting in a café, sipping bitter coffee, he texted to ask where I was.

to him. He told me to meet him at a restaurant downstairs

to the restroom and touched up my makeup. If Jared wanted to treat me like his

The guys couldn’t even look me in the eyes. They got all polite, keeping their voices low. Some mumbled “hi,” and I smiled back. Others tossed out compliments, and I gave a nod of

way to Jared, who stood there in a crisp suit, over six feet tall, looking sharp. I was

She had on a gray blazer, shoulder–length hair,

watch was a quarter–million–dollar piece, her necklace worth tens of thousands. She was subtly flexing

glanced up at me but

into their food. Halfway through

clearly feeling himself today–his picture–perfect wife on one side, his sharp mistress on the other. The other guys couldn’t help

was. I smiled, worked the room, and kept up appearances. Guys were

lot, a faint flush coloring his

1/2

tried to toast, Tracy stepped in. “Mr. Holcomb

over with some glib remarks and dropped

the company, and everyone treated

like I didn’t catch it. Why bother? I was already done

today, her face blank the

and I got ready to