Chapter 10 - A Clear Horizon
Six months later, the Mediterranean sun warmed the balcony of our seaside cottage in Amalfi.
I sat with a cup of espresso, watching the fishing boats carve white trails across the azure water. Daniel stepped out in his linen shirt, holding two warm pastries and setting them between us.
“Any emails from home?” he asked with a faint smile.
“None,” I replied, taking a bite. “The block is working perfectly.”
After the wedding, I had closed every shared account. When Chloe gave birth to a healthy baby girl three months later, I sent a lovely gift basket of clothes and books through a courier, accompanied by a polite card wishing her and Tyler well. But there was no check inside. No promises of monthly allowances. No financial rescue.
Uncle Ron had texted me recently to let me know that Tyler had taken a second job, Chloe had started budgeting, and Mom had finally learned how to clean her own gutters. Deprived of my purse, they were finally learning how to be adults.
Daniel took my hand, turning my diamond band under the morning light.
“How do you feel, Mrs. Vance?”
May you like
I took a deep breath of the salt air. The tightness in my chest that had lived there since I was eight years old—the constant fear that I was only as valuable as the burdens I carried—was completely gone.
“I feel light,” I said, resting my head against his shoulder. “Completely, wonderfully light.”
