Jossy didn't know what she wanted anymore.
The scandal had stripped the illusions away. Damien wasn't the man she thought she would build her life with. He was self centered, driven by ego, always looking out for himself, and for so long, she had lived in his shadow, bending herself into what he needed. Now, she wondered what it would mean to choose herself instead.
But what did that even look like?
Damien had been pressuring her again, this time about a baby. Trying again, as he called it, as if a child will glue back the pieces of their fractured marriage. The thought made her stomach turn. She couldn't bring a child into this mess. Into a home where love had turned into resentment. So she stalled. Another excuse here, another delay there. But excuses couldn't last forever. She knew that he would eventually see through her hesitation.
When she arrived home the afternoon after their meeting at Lennox, she escaped into the study. The house was quiet, and she welcomed the silence.
Sitting at the desk, she skimmed through an old notebook where she had once scribbled her ambitions, her goals, and her dreams. She always wanted to make something of herself. Build a name. Live with purpose. And yet, here she was, two and half years wasted, chained to Damien's image of a perfect wife.
Her throat tightened. Was he worth it?
Before she could talk herself out of it, she reached for her phone. Her fingers hovered
as she typed.
Wanna meet up for coffee?
She sent the message before she could second guess it, and a reply came in immediately. Jossy pushed herself from the chair, her chest tightening with anticipation. She moved upstairs, slipped into a black laced dress, and let her reflection stare back at her. She felt and looked freer.
She grabbed her car keys and walked out of the door.