Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Not just because he had a vasectomy after we planned for a family, so many things over the last couple of years, but I’m tired.
I want to be valued.
I want to be appreciated.
I want to be needed.
I want to be loved.
None of those things are present in our relationship. I should have ended things with him a long time ago, but I thought it was just a phase until he made partner. Clearly, I was wrong. What’s worse is that I’m not all that upset about it. If I’m being honest, it’s a relief knowing that we’re parting ways.
“I’ll let you get back to work,” I tell him. The anger is suddenly no longer roaring through me. I’m still pissed, but being fuming mad and yelling isn’t going to change anything. It isn’t going to change him. He’s changed—hell, maybe I have, too; we’re different people, and this is no longer working.
“I’ll see you at home,” he says, shoving the medical bill into his desk and getting back to work. I’ve been dismissed, which stings, but it’s also expected. That’s the sum of our relationship, or was, because as of this moment, we’re over.
I don’t wave. I don’t say goodbye. Instead, I quietly make my way to the elevator and calmly push the down arrow. I wait patiently for the elevator car to arrive, and when the doors finally slide open, I don’t bother looking toward Todd’s office. Instead, I hit the button for the lobby and close my eyes for the ride.
I’m leaving tomorrow to go home for a week, and in my heart, I know what I have to do. I walk the three blocks back to the apartment with a clear head and a plan. Once inside, I grab my laptop and fire off a resignation letter, stating a family emergency. I hate to leave them without notice, but it’s a massive firm, and I’m just another body. They won’t miss me. Then, I start packing. All I need are my clothes and pictures. All of the furniture was Todd’s when I moved in, and even if it wasn’t, that can all be replaced.
There’s a reason New York is called the city that never sleeps, and tonight, I’m thankful for that. I’m able to secure a rental for an SUV for the drive home, and I’ve booked a cab to the car rental place. Some might see this as a rash decision, but I’m done. It’s been a long time coming.
I want to go home.
I miss my sisters, and I miss Magnolia Ridge.
One
Baylor
* * *
I’m exhausted, my body aches, and all I want is food and a bed. I drove through the night. It wasn’t my smartest decision, but the need to be home and put as much distance as possible between me, New York, and Todd pushed me forward.
It’s a twelve-and-a-half-hour drive. I made it in thirteen, counting fuel and bathroom stops, though somewhere along the way, I lost an hour to the time change. Now, it’s eleven-thirty the next morning, and I’m finally rolling to a stop outside my best friend Sophia’s house. I was supposed to fly, but I told Sophia the drive was good for me to clear my head. After my altercation with Todd, I didn’t want to be around people on a crowded plane. I needed time alone to process. She asked if I was okay, and I answered honestly, saying I wasn’t sure.
Sleep is all I can think about. I could easily disappear for the next twenty-four hours, but tomorrow is my big sister’s baby shower. So instead, I’ll settle for a hot meal, a shower, catching up with my best friend, and if I’m lucky, a solid eight hours of sleep before a new day begins. A day to celebrate my big sister and my niece.
The plan was always to stay at Sophia’s until after the shower, to surprise my sister. Leighton and Courtlynn know the plan, and they’ve been sworn to secrecy, at least where Ellison is concerned. I called Sophia last night to tell her I was on the road, and she’s checked in on me more times than I can count since I left New York. She doesn’t know all the details of what happened with Todd, not yet. That conversation feels like one that needs to happen face-to-face.
Besides, I needed the drive to process that I just uprooted my life. Thirteen hours alone to sit with the reality of what I’ve done. How I uprooted my entire life on impulse. I needed that time to try to make sense of my impulsive decision.
Should I have stood up and quit my job as I did? No. But as soon as I hit the Tennessee state line, my unease started to settle. Something about crossing that county line eased the tension inside me. When I graduated from college, I wanted out. I wanted more, and it turns out more isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When I finally cross the corporation limits for Magnolia Ridge, I can’t seem to find it in me to regret my choice.