These past few weeks have been hectic, and I’m not talking about the time I spent in prison. Am I


    okay? Definitely not. I’m so far from okay that nothing in my life makes any sense right now.


    I won’t hide the fact that I’m lost. I had this n. This goal and a dream to one day be with Rowan. I


    focused on that dream for so long that it became the very air that I breathed. Everything I did, I’ve done


    was propelled by dreams of having Rowan back one day.


    I mean, damn, I even became awyer because of him. I knew that one day he was going to ask Ava


    for a divorce, and I’d be there to support him. I truly believed that Ava would fight it, would refuse to let


    go, and I would be there to fight her because I’ve never lost a case. I’m the best divorcewyer there is.


    All of that crumbled, though. The moment Rowan sent me to prison, my fairytale dreams and illusions


    were destroyed. Now here, I am feeling like the rug has been pulled from right under me. I have no


    direction or purpose, all because I made a man my priority.


    Don’t get me wrong, I have epted that Rowan doesn’t belong to me anymore, but that doesn’t mean


    that it still doesn’t hurt, because it does. It hurts like a motherfucking bitch.


    Standing up, I get off my bed and slowly head towards my dressing table. I felt like a zombie, to be


    honest. I sit down and just stare at myself. The woman staring back at me is aplete stranger.


    There is nothing familiar about her.


    I look pale, I have dark purple eye bags, my lips are chapped, and my blue eyes are dull. I pull my gaze


    away from the mirror and stare at my folded hands on my thighs, unable to look at myself anymore.


    Sighing, I stand back up once again and move to the window, staring outside, hoping to find some


    peace andfort.


    I should have known. It was clear as day, yet I refused to ept what was staring at me right in the


    freaking face. Rowan loved Ava. I was delusional, thinking that he still loved me and that he still wanted


    me. I mean,e the fuck on, there is no way you could stay with someone for nine freaking years


    unless you felt something for her.


    He had so many chances to walk away. He could have asked for a divorce a year or so after Noah was


    born, yet he didn’t. Why is that? We all thought Rowan would be the one to divorce Ava, but we were


    all shocked when it turned out to be vice versa… And if Ava hadn’t asked for a divorce? That means


    they would still be together.


    The more I thought about it, the more the pieces started falling into ce. Rowan isn’t the kind of


    person to be forced into doing anything. He didn’t have to marry Ava years ago. I mean, hell, he could


    have just agreed to pay child support and have half custody, but he didn’t.


    He also didn’t have to stay with her for nine freaking years, yet he did. No one forced him. No one


    pressured him. It was his decision to stay because some part of him knew he couldn’t let Ava go.


    That’s why, even after their divorce, he just couldn’t stay away from her.


    “Emma?” I release a tired sigh at the sound of my mother’s voice.


    She doesn’t knock; she just enters my room like she owns it. She did, though, because since I was


    released from prison, I’ve been staying at the family estate with her.


    “Yes, Mom”


    Her brows pull down in a frown, and her nose scrunches up in distaste. “You desperately need a


    shower. You stink, Emma.”


    I don’t say anything. Instead, I move around and sit on my bed before facing her. She was here for a


    reason. I just had to sit patiently and wait for her to tell me why she was in my room.


    “I’m worried about you, Emma. You’ve been cooped up in this room since you came back home. It can’t


    be healthy at all. Plus, Molly is worried about you, and so are your friends. Molly told me you’ve been


    ignoring their calls.” She crosses the room and sits down next to me.