“That’s the whole point.You have to befriend them and bond.Jesus.Invite them over for lunch.Arrange a girl’s weekend at our home in the Hamptons.”
I glanced away.
I hated that house.
It was huge, and I hated the way it was decorated.Adam wouldn’t let me change it.
I had tried to make friends with some of them, but we had nothing in common except for our husbands, and that conversation got boring after thirty minutes.Many of the women came from money or were successful entrepreneurs themselves.Which I pointed out to Adam once.
Didn’t go down well.
They saw me as a pathetic trophy wife, and I didn’t blame them.
With Kylie, I could be myself.
“I’ll be honest, I thought you’d go back to Adam.”Kylie plays with the straw in her drink.
I messaged her to meet me atSilhouette,our favorite wine bar in SoHo.
Since becoming a single woman, I’m a regular.Being free is so new to me, and I’ve found that having money and complete freedom is not quite that simple.Stretching my wings is taking time.
I’m sure that would be hard to understand.
“No.Uh, uh.”I sip my chocolate martini.“No, there’s no going back.”
“I can see that now.Have your parents got in touch?”
“No,” I shudder.“They’re probably waiting to hear what I get in the settlement.You know, maybe I should just give them some and—”
“Girl, no!”Kylie slaps my hand.“The way they treated you.Ugh.”
“They’re addicts.”I shrug.
“They were neglectful parents,” she reminds me.
It could have been worse.At least that’s what Mom told me during one of her messages.That they could have sent me into the foster system.That I could have ended up in a much worse environment, sexually abused, physically harmed, moved from house to house, not given any level of education.
She’s right.
Not having lunch money or knowing if I would starve is not the same as being raped.Yet, I don’t really see it as beingbetter off.
I shake off thoughts of my past and look to the future.It is definitely brighter.I’ve even considered speaking to a therapist once the divorce proceedings are over.There has to be some reason I ended up with a man who was so controlling, and in his own way, abusive.
I don’t want to do it again.
I’ve grown so much on my own, so I hope that I won’t.You just never know.
I’m quite proud of how I’ve stood up to themightyZander Sterling.Seeing him toss back his head and laugh, stating,you’re not scared of me at all, are you, Courtney Blackmore?
Nope.
But I did want him to kiss me, and that was not good.
This entire process and becoming a divorcee has made me very reflective about where I want to go next.I’m still unsure.
“Yeah, forget them.I won’t give them a cent.I need to work out what I’m doing with my life.I have nothing to show for the first twenty-six years of my life.I’m nearly thirty.”
“Okay, first of all, you’re four years away from turning thirty, and second, you haven’t wasted your life,” Kylie frowned.“You were married, experienced love, even if he is a douchebag, and now you are a billionaire.Well, soon you will be.”
