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na's
g anniversary, I burned the gif
r, Mia, had begged for at every toy-store window this year. The plastic curled and bubbled
very second
retty woman standing two steps behind Xavier Harrington at every gal
at I was the most brilliant protégé of Dr. Ambrose Voss, the most renowned figure in American medic
ier, I burie
ut meeting my eyes, "I don't need a wife holding a
rment. Now I see it for what it truly w
anniversary. A day I had sta
y had apparen
econd, I thought she would say, "Happy anniversary, Mommy." Instead, she ch
ie, his eyes never meeting mine in the mirror. "Savannah's exhi
I-a housewife-had no place at all in the dazzling
d opened Xavier's social media. His a
n his face was one I hadn't seen directed at me in years: pure, undiluted pri
on winning the 'New-Wave Designer of the Year' award! A special thanks t
on the words "unw
awards ceremony. An event far more import
my heart, spreading through my ve
dark screen reflected a woman
dle, shaped like the number "5," stood proudly in the center. I struck a ma
For five years, my wis
thin curl of smoke rose, carrying the last c
the cufflinks, and-without a second o
the prin
the flames, one keepsake at a time, wa
every bit of the cold, carefully prepared food into the trash. The Beef Wellington. The t
d never known settled over me. No
e, and the thought I had buried so deep-the one
all, toward the study. A place I hadn't set foot in fo
was time to
e curtains. The growl of a car in the driveway. The front do
daughter's voice ran
shiny! You're so much more useful than Mommy
braced against the wall. That was my daught
ocence. "Mia, don't say that about your mother. She's done so much for t
band-low, sooth
You earned this. And besides,
t telling
and laughed silently
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