I didn’t go home.

I drove.

For hours.

Until the city lights disappeared and I couldn’t hear their voices in my head anymore.

By morning, I stopped crying.

Not because I wasn’t hurt—but because something inside me had shifted.

I filed for divorce the same day.

No fight. No demands. No negotiations.

Just freedom.

Michael didn’t try to stop me.

He was busy building a future with Tiffany.

I moved to Austin. Started over in a small apartment. Took a regular job. Paid my own bills. Built a life that didn’t depend on anyone deciding my worth.

Meanwhile, from a distance, I watched them win.

Tiffany moved into my house.

Drove my car.

Wore my life like it had always been hers.

Then came the announcement.

A boy.

Blue confetti. Champagne. Smiles everywhere.

“The Sterling heir.”

They got what they wanted.

And for the first time, I realized…

So did I.

When my doctor told me I was having a girl, I cried.

Not because I lost.

Because she was free.