Chapter 10 - A NEW BEGINNING
Two weeks later, I was back in my main corporate office in downtown Miami, sitting at a glass conference table overlooking the bay.
My fiancé, Marcus, sat across from me, reviewing a master press release for our company’s upcoming IPO.
“So,” Marcus smiled, looking up from his tablet, “the Wellington wedding drama has officially settled down?”
“Completely,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “Vanessa and Trevor are currently on their honeymoon in Europe. Apparently, Trevor’s father cut Trevor’s corporate expense allowance by fifty percent after the resort incident.”
Marcus chuckled. “Serves him right. And your brother?”
“Derek called me three times last week trying to pitched me an 'investment opportunity' in his firm. I had my assistant block his number.”
“Cold,” Marcus laughed softly. “I like it.”
“It’s not cold,” I replied with a gentle smile. “It’s called boundaries. I spent ten years letting them define who I was. I’m done giving them power over my life.”
My secretary knocked on the glass door and stepped in. “Ms. Sterling, your driver is ready. The board meeting for the new Caribbean hotel development starts in twenty minutes.”
“Thank you, Sarah,” I said, standing up and grabbing my briefcase.
I walked out of the office and descended to the private parking garage below the building. My driver held open the door of a sleek, black luxury sedan.
As I sat back against the leather seat, my phone buzzed with a notification. It was an Instagram alert.
I opened the app. Vanessa had posted her official wedding photo album.
The first photo was a gorgeous shot of her and Trevor under the altar. The caption read: “A perfect, magical weekend at Crystal Bay Resort. Surrounded by family and true success.”
I swiped through the photos.
I wasn't in a single one of them. She had excluded me entirely from her public image, just as she had promised.
I looked at the photo, smiled softly, and did something I should have done years ago.
I closed the app, tapped her profile settings, and hit Unfollow.
Then I locked my phone, put it in my purse, and looked out the window as the Miami skyline rushed past.
I didn't need to be in her photos. I didn't need her validation, my mother’s approval, or my brother’s respect.
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I owned the resort. I owned my life. And for the first time in my thirty-two years, I was completely, unapologetically free.
THE END
