The alarm clock went off at exactly six a.m., sharp and unforgiving, like it had been waiting weeks to remind me that life didn't pause just because mine had imploded.
I stared at the ceiling for a long moment, my heart racing as though I'd been jolted awake from a nightmare. My hand hovered before I finally reached out and shut the alarm off.
Three months ago, I was not sure I would ever go back to work,not after all I went through.
The doctors had called it exhaustion, stress-induced hypertension, anxiety masquerading as chest pain. But to me it was the price of having my divorce dragged through every media outlet that could spell my name correctly.
Leo Carter,my husband of twelve years, CEO of the largest gaming company and sadly the Co-owner of my Interior designing company in new york, serial cheater, and now ex made sure the separation was public .
The titles "Power couple crumbles, "Ann Carter hospitalized amid messy divorce." "Billion-dollar empire, broken vows" ran on virtually every news paper in town.
I lost friends and even family too,it was as if I was excommunicated, everyone twisted the story to make it look like my fault,..of course Leo Carter,the charming CEO couldn't make a mistake.
I closed my eyes briefly and exhaled. Today was not about Leo. I refused to let him own one more morning of my life.
I pushed myself out of bed and padded toward the bathroom, catching my reflection in the mirror. I looked… different. Thinner. Sharper around the edges.
The doorbell rang just as I was fastening my earrings.
That would be Rachel.
"Come in!" I called, already smiling,she was the only friend that stood by me aside my mom
Rachel Stone entered my apartment like she owned the place, coffee cups in both hands, her heels clicking against the marble floor.
"Do not tell me you were going to face your grand return without caffeine," she said, holding one cup out to me.
"You're a saint," I replied, taking it gratefully.
She studied me over the rim of her own cup, her sharp attorney's eyes missing nothing. "You look good."
"I feel like I'm going to throw up."
"Ah," she said brightly. "Then you're fully back to being human."
We sat in the kitchen ,she stared into my eyes with a blank expression written on her face,she has probably sensed that I was tense and thinking twice about my decision to get back to work today.
Rachel had been my friend long before she became my lawyer during the divorce. She'd seen me cry, rage, shut down and slowly, painfully, come back.
"This is a big day," she said more gently now. "I have to let you know that whatever happened in the past doesn't define you,Leo doesn't get to define you."
"I know," I said. "I just… hate that everyone will be watching."
"They'll stare today," she shrugged. "Tomorrow they'll find someone else's life to obsess over . That's how it works Ann."
I stirred my coffee, avoiding her gaze.
"What if I'm not ready?"
Rachel leaned forward. "Ann, you survived a marriage that nearly erased you. You survived humiliation, betrayal, and a body that literally forced you to stop. You are ready."
She paused, then added, "And it's time you stop treating your life like it's on hold."
I looked up. "What does that mean, exactly?"
"It means," she said carefully, "you leave Leo's ghost where it belongs. You go back to work. You flirt if you want. You live, become the Ann I have always known from highschool."
I laughed softly. "You make it sound so easy."
"It's not," she admitted. "But you don't have to be brave forever. Just today."
*****
When she left, I stood in front of my closet longer than necessary before choosing a tailored navy blue dress and heels that made me feel taller, steadier.I have to appear confident,even if deep down, I know I'm not.
As I stepped into the lobby of Lush luxury & Co. Holdings, conversations hushed.
Heads turned.
Eyes lingered.
I felt the curiosity, the pity, the judgment all finding their way within the crowd,but I lifted my chin and walked forward anyway,I had to,this wasn't the time to cower away.
This was my company as much as it had ever been Leo's, and I had not clawed my way to the top to be reduced to a headline.
"Good morning, Ms. Carter," my assistant, Naomi, said quickly, relief evident in her eyes.
"Good morning, Naomi," I replied. "It's good to be back."
My office felt unchanged, pristine and impersonal. Emails flooded in, meetings stacked up,it was then that I realized how neglecting I have been of my job just because of a man,a man who chose a literal whore over me.
Just before noon, Naomi knocked lightly and stepped in. "You have a meeting at twelve-thirty with Hawthorne Financial Group."
I frowned. "Hawthorne?"
"Yes. They requested a last-minute pitch review. I slotted it in."
"Alright," I said. "I'll be there."
The conference room was already occupied when I arrived.
I stopped short.
He turned at the sound of my heels, and for a moment, the world narrowed to the space between us.
"Ann?"
My name sounded different in his voice. Softer. Gentle in a way that sent something twisting sharply in my chest.
"Andre?" I breathed.
Andre Miller stood there, older than the boy I remembered but unmistakably the same. Broader shoulders, neatly trimmed beard, eyes still warm and devastatingly expressive. He smiled slowly, disbelief written across his face.
"I thought it was you," he said. "But I wasn't sure."
I laughed weakly. "I could say the same."
For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. High school lockers and late-night phone calls flashed through my mind. First love. First heartbreak. The boy who had held my hand and promised we'd find our way back to each other someday.
Apparently, life had taken its time.
"So," he said finally, gesturing to the table, "this is… unexpected."
"That's one word for it," I replied, taking my seat.
The meeting began, all numbers and projections, but my focus kept slipping. Every time Andre spoke, his voice pulled me under. Every glance felt charged with things unsaid.
When the presentation ended, the room emptied until it was just the two of us.
"Well," he said quietly, "I guess New York really is smaller than it seems."
I met his gaze, my heart beating far too fast. "It seems that way."
Neither of us mentioned the years apart. Or the lives we'd lived in between.
But as I walked out of that room, one thing was painfully clear,my first day back had just become far more complicated.