Divorce, Rebirth, and Sweet Success

Divorce, Rebirth, and Sweet Success

Gavin

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The last thing I remembered was the blinding pain behind my eyes, then darkness. When I opened them again, I was back in my bed, twenty-five years younger, before my life became a hollow marriage to August Savage, a U.S. Senator who saw me as nothing more than a political asset. A painful memory surfaced: my death from an aneurysm, brought on by years of quiet heartbreak. I had seen a picture of August, his college sweetheart Heidi, and our son Kadin on a family retreat, looking like the perfect family. I was the one who took the picture. I shot out of bed, knowing this was the day of that retreat. I ran to the private airfield, desperate to stop them. I saw them there, bathed in morning light: August, Kadin, and Heidi, looking like a perfect, happy family. "August!" I yelled, my voice raw. His smile vanished. "Carolynn, what are you doing here? You're making a scene." I ignored him, confronting Heidi. "Who are you? And why are you going on my family's trip?" Kadin then slammed into me, yelling, "Go away! You're ruining our trip with Aunt Heidi!" He sneered, "Because you're no fun. Aunt Heidi is smart and fun. Not like you." August hissed, "Look what you've done. You've upset Heidi. You're embarrassing me." His words hit me harder than any physical blow. I had spent years sacrificing my dreams to be the perfect wife and mother, only to be seen as a servant, an obstacle. "Let's get a divorce," I said, my voice a quiet thunderclap. August and Kadin froze, then scoffed, "Are you trying to get my attention, Carolynn? This is a pathetic new low." I walked to the desk, pulled out the divorce papers, and signed my name with a steady hand. This time, I was choosing myself.

Chapter 1

The last thing I remembered was the blinding pain behind my eyes, then darkness. When I opened them again, I was back in my bed, twenty-five years younger, before my life became a hollow marriage to August Savage, a U.S. Senator who saw me as nothing more than a political asset.

A painful memory surfaced: my death from an aneurysm, brought on by years of quiet heartbreak. I had seen a picture of August, his college sweetheart Heidi, and our son Kadin on a family retreat, looking like the perfect family. I was the one who took the picture.

I shot out of bed, knowing this was the day of that retreat. I ran to the private airfield, desperate to stop them. I saw them there, bathed in morning light: August, Kadin, and Heidi, looking like a perfect, happy family.

"August!" I yelled, my voice raw. His smile vanished. "Carolynn, what are you doing here? You're making a scene." I ignored him, confronting Heidi. "Who are you? And why are you going on my family's trip?"

Kadin then slammed into me, yelling, "Go away! You're ruining our trip with Aunt Heidi!" He sneered, "Because you're no fun. Aunt Heidi is smart and fun. Not like you."

August hissed, "Look what you've done. You've upset Heidi. You're embarrassing me."

His words hit me harder than any physical blow. I had spent years sacrificing my dreams to be the perfect wife and mother, only to be seen as a servant, an obstacle.

"Let's get a divorce," I said, my voice a quiet thunderclap. August and Kadin froze, then scoffed, "Are you trying to get my attention, Carolynn? This is a pathetic new low." I walked to the desk, pulled out the divorce papers, and signed my name with a steady hand. This time, I was choosing myself.

Chapter 1

The last thing I remembered was the sharp, blinding pain behind my eyes. Then, darkness.

When I opened them again, I was staring at the familiar silk canopy of my bed. The morning sun streamed through the window, the same way it had for the past twenty-five years.

My head didn't hurt. My body felt light, young even. I looked at my hands. They were smooth, without the faint age spots that had started to appear.

A painful memory surfaced. My life, all twenty-five years of it, played out in my mind. A hollow marriage to August Savage, an ambitious U.S. Senator who saw me as nothing more than a political asset. A perfect wife to stand by his side, organize his home, and raise his son.

He never loved me. His heart belonged to his college sweetheart, Heidi Case. For twenty-five years, they carried on an emotional affair right under my nose. Everyone knew. Our friends, his staff, even our son, Kadin. Everyone but me.

August never married Heidi. He told people it was because a powerful lobbyist as a wife would look bad for his political career. The truth was simpler. He needed a wife who would be a glorified servant, someone to manage his life so he could focus on his ambition and his "one true love." I was that convenient fool. Heidi was his partner; I was the help.

My death was just as lonely as my life. I saw a picture of August, Heidi, and our son Kadin on a family retreat. They looked like the perfect family. I was the one who took the picture.

The stress, the years of quiet heartbreak, it all culminated in a fatal aneurysm.

As I lay dying, I heard my own son, Kadin, snap at the housekeeper, "Why is she making a mess on the floor? It's so embarrassing."

Now, I was back. Back at the beginning.

I shot out of bed. I knew this day. It was the day of the donor retreat at the senator's private mountain lodge. The day they were leaving without me. The day I took that picture.

I didn't waste a second. I threw on a simple dress and ran out of the house, not even bothering with shoes. I had to stop them. I had to change this life.

The private airfield was bustling with staff and security. I pushed through the crowd, my heart pounding in my chest. I frantically searched for them.

Then I saw them. Standing by the jet, bathed in the morning light. August, handsome and charismatic as ever, was adjusting our eight-year-old son Kadin's collar. Heidi Case stood beside them, her hand resting on Kadin's shoulder, a gentle smile on her face. They looked so natural together, a perfect, happy family.

A wave of nausea hit me. This was the scene that had haunted me, the image of their betrayal.

"August!" I yelled, my voice raw.

The three of them turned. August' s smile vanished when he saw me. His face hardened with annoyance.

He strode towards me, his voice low and angry. "Carolynn, what are you doing here? You're making a scene."

I ignored him and looked past him at Heidi. "Who are you? And why are you going on my family's trip?"

Heidi stepped forward, her expression a mask of gentle concern. "Carolynn, you must be confused. I'm Heidi Case, an old friend of August's. He invited me to the retreat."

"An old friend?" I let out a bitter laugh.

August grabbed my arm, his grip tight. "Enough, Carolynn. Stop this nonsense. Heidi is our guest."

Suddenly, a small body slammed into me. "Go away!" Kadin yelled, pushing me hard. "You're ruining our trip with Aunt Heidi!"

The push sent me staggering back. My body felt cold, a chill that had nothing to do with the morning air. I looked at my son, my own child, looking at me with such hatred.

"This is a family trip?" I asked, my voice trembling. "Then why am I not on it?"

"Because you're no fun," Kadin sneered. "Aunt Heidi is smart and fun. Not like you."

People were starting to stare, whispering among themselves. Heidi' s eyes welled up, and she looked at August with a wounded expression. "August, maybe this is my fault. I shouldn't have come."

Her performance was perfect. August and Kadin immediately softened, their anger turning towards me.

"Look what you've done," August hissed. "You've upset Heidi. You're embarrassing me."

"She's right, Dad. Mom is always so embarrassing," Kadin said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Why can't you be more like Aunt Heidi?"

His words hit me harder than any physical blow. I thought of all the years I'd spent raising him, managing the household, sacrificing my own dreams and identity to be the perfect political wife and mother. I cooked his favorite meals, I helped him with his homework, I organized his birthday parties. I did everything.

And in their eyes, I was just a servant. Redundant. An obstacle to their perfect family with Heidi.

Heidi, the master manipulator, stepped in again. "Carolynn, don't be upset. Of course you can come with us. We'd love to have you." She smiled, but her eyes were cold.

Her fake apology only made things worse. It made me look like the unreasonable one.

"See?" August said, his tone condescending. "Heidi is being gracious. Now, are you coming, or are you going to continue this pathetic display?"

The trip was a special kind of hell. On the plane, August and Kadin sat with Heidi, laughing and talking. I sat alone, an invisible ghost in my own life. I remembered a conversation from my past life, August telling a friend, "Carolynn is a good wife. She's... practical. But Heidi, she understands my soul."

The words echoed in my head, a constant reminder of my wasted life.

When we arrived at the lodge, August's parents were there. Their faces fell when they saw me. They adored Heidi, always treating her like their real daughter-in-law.

The entire weekend, I was ignored. They praised Heidi' s wit, her political insights, her elegance. They acted as if I wasn't even there.

The final morning, they all gathered on the scenic overlook for a group photo.

"Mom, come take a picture for us!" Kadin called out, waving me over. He pushed me away when I tried to stand next to August. "No, not you in the picture. You take it."

My blood ran cold. It was happening again. The exact same moment.

I looked at them, posed together against the stunning mountain backdrop. August with his arm around Heidi, Kadin leaning against her, all three of them smiling for the camera. The perfect family.

My hands trembled as I raised the camera. I saw the image through the viewfinder, the image that had literally killed me. I saw the life I had lost, the love I never had, the family that was never mine.

Tears blurred my vision, but I forced them back. I pressed the shutter button. Click. The sound was deafening in the quiet mountain air.

On the way down the mountain, August didn't even wait for me. He and Kadin walked ahead with Heidi, their laughter echoing back at me. I walked alone, my body and soul exhausted.

When we got back to our D.C. townhouse, the abuse continued.

"Carolynn, get my shoes," August commanded, dropping his bag on the floor.

"Mom, I'm hungry. Make me a snack," Kadin demanded, not even looking at me.

Something inside me snapped. The anger and grief of two lifetimes, of twenty-five years of being treated like dirt, boiled over.

I stood in the middle of the grand foyer, surrounded by the life I had built for them, a life where I had no place.

I looked at my husband and my son. My voice was quiet, barely a whisper, but it landed like a thunderclap in the silent room.

"Let's get a divorce."

August and Kadin froze. They stared at me, their faces a mixture of shock and disbelief.

August recovered first. He took a threatening step towards me, his eyes narrowed. "What did you just say?"

I met his gaze, my own calm and steady. "I said, let's get a divorce, August."

He scoffed, a look of contempt on his face. "Are you trying to get my attention, Carolynn? This is a pathetic new low, even for you."

Kadin chimed in, mimicking his father's smirk. "Yeah, Mom. Dad's about to run for president. You think he'll let you ruin it? I'll give you a chance to take it back."

I looked at their arrogant faces, so sure of their power over me. A cold smile touched my lips. I walked over to the desk where August kept his legal documents, pulled out the divorce papers his lawyer had drafted years ago as a "contingency plan," and signed my name with a steady hand.

I didn't need them anymore. This time, I was choosing myself.

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