Housewife Gone Wild

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.

and sent it to him. He told me to meet him at a restaurant downstairs from his office at

wanted to treat me like

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

Jared, who stood there in a crisp suit, over six feet tall, looking sharp. I was killing it–absolutely stunning. We must’ve looked perfect

had on a

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

glanced up at me

me to sit. Then everyone started chatting, digging into their food. Halfway through the meal, some

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

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

a faint flush coloring his handsome

1/2

guy tried to toast, Tracy stepped in. “Mr. Holcomb can’t drink more,” she said. “He’s

guy quickly smoothed things over with some glib

Tracy had clout at the company,

tell it was a silent provocation aimed at me. But I acted like I didn’t catch it. Why bother? I was already done with this marriage. If she wanted that jerk Jared,

seemed off today, her

lunch wrapped up, and

drunk, unable to stand steady. Suddenly, he leaned into me, his hands reaching out to wrap around me in