Free From His Shadow

fectly manicured lawn. The silence of the house was immense, a hollow sp

the eye, and tell him I wanted a divorce. I wanted to see hi

lack sports car he loved, pull silen

n the pass

f old-fashioned chivalry he had never once offered me. He placed a hand on the small of her back, a light, proprietary

pening right here, in our home. The betrayal was

e a screaming match. It would be a repeat of the ugly scene at the gala from my previous life, but without

steady. My heart was cold. This was not a mom

hone and called

voice a low whisper. "

calm, a solid anchor in my swirling

er to his office first thing in the morning.

ed. "I'll confirm once

. The guest house was visible from my window. A

ngely peaceful, as if a great weight had been

AM, Hel

were delivered to his office and si

I asked, a small, foolis

velope into his office. She came out a minute later and said Mr. Vance

ministrative work to be handled by his staff. That's

go of something that was already gone. There was a sense of release, but also a profound, echoing loss for the

riage w

side was neat and organized, rows of identical dark suits and s

his suits and placed them in luxury luggage bags. I emptied his drawers of socks and tie

ome, from my life. I was clearing out the old to make way for the new. By the time I was done, his s

est house. Let him find his things there,

se was m

-