<b>Chapter </b><b>15 </b>
I <b>had </b>on a <b>ck </b>crop top–short, showing a sliver of my <b>waist</b><b>–</b>paired with loose beige pants. Standing <b>at </b><b>five</b>–foot<b>–</b>six, <b>I </b>had a slim, tall frame, and my brown hair made me look much more gorgeous.
“Mom, what’re you wearing? It’s cute!” Yvonne’s eyes went wide. She’d never seen me dressed like this.
Jared’s <b>deep</b><b>–</b><b>set </b>eyes flickered with surprise.
I flipped my <b>wavy </b>hair and stepped toward them. “Let’s go, Yvonne. I’m gonna bete for dinner.”
Jared ruffled Yvonne’s hair, his voice soft. “Listen to Mom, okay? Don’t give her a hard time.”
Yvonne pouted, grumbling. “I know. You say that every day–it’s annoying.”
Jared looked at her adoringly. Then he turned to me and gave me a thorough once–over. “Who are you having dinner with?”
<b>“</b>My violin teacher and some ssmates,” I replied.
His brows pulled tight. “Don’t mess with strangers. Watch out for creeps.”
Iughed. “Meeting new people is fun for me.”
Before he could say more, I shut the car door and pulled away. In the rearview mirror, I saw him still standing there, watching me leave.
Yvonne pulled out her game console, firing it up. “Mom, why didn’t youe bake with me yesterday?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Thought you had Tracy there.”
“That’s not the same,” she pouted. “Everyone else has both their mom and dad,there, but I only have Dad. If Tracy hadn’t bailed on her own ns toe, I would’ve looked so pathetic.”
She was basically calling me <i>a </i>bad mom. But I almost smirked–Tracy was probably thrilled for the chance. Honestly, she should thank me.
“Your dad’s pretty nice to Tracy, huh?” I said casually.
“Of course, she’s-“Yvonne started, but quickly stopped. She was as sharp as her dad, after all. She just let out an annoyed huff. “Mom, are you trying to get info about Dad from me? Howme.”
I fell silent. Time and again, I realized my little girl wasn’t on my side, even at such a young age. I couldn’t convince myself to love her anymore.
When I arrived at the restaurant, my teacher and musician ssmates were already there. A few single guys who’d hit on me before looked utterly stunned now that they saw me walk in with my daughter.
Jared had cheated, but I wasn’t about to start hooking up with random guys as payback. Love meant nothing to me right now. I just wanted to build my career and be independent. Once I got there, guys would be lining up.
Dinner was great, though. Weughed, talked, and swapped stories. I picked up some useful tips, and they even said they’d hit me up for future gigs.
<b>Since </b>performing a few times in college, I’d never been on stage again. But I loved that feeling <b>of </b>standing in the spotlight- being adored, being liked–it was pure soul food. And I wanted it back.
<b>1/2 </b>
Retired executives often spiraled into depression when the praise stopped–their sense of purpose just vanished. For me, it was the same. Without that validation, I felt myself slowly disappearing.
Yvonne was quite the social butterfly. She chatted easily with my violin ssmates and even got this wild idea about learning violin together. I quickly shut her down.