Chapter 10: The Mirror
Six months later, the house was quiet on a Sunday morning.
The kids were downstairs making pancakes—I could hear Toby laughing with his younger brothers over the sound of the sizzling griddle—while the baby cooed happily from her high chair.
I walked into my master bathroom and stopped in front of the full-length mirror.
For the first time in years, I didn't look for the flaws. I didn't inspect the stretch marks from carrying four children, and I didn't criticize the faint lines around my eyes from sleepless nights.
I saw a woman with bright, clear eyes and healthy skin. I wore a simple sundress that I had bought for myself the week before, and around my neck hung a delicate gold pendant—a birthday gift from my children.
"He'd never be with you. Have you even looked at yourself in the mirror?"
Jordan's cruel words from the pool party echoed faintly in my memory, but they carried no weight anymore. They sounded like the desperate insults of a small, ruined man who had traded his family for a mirage.
My phone buzzed on the vanity counter.
It was a text from Clark: "Reservations at the bistro for 7:00 tonight? Toby already confirmed he's on babysitting duty."
I smiled, typing back a quick confirmation.
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I looked at my reflection one last time, smoothing the fabric of my dress. I didn't need a hired actor to prove my worth to anyone ever again. I had survived the worst storm of my life, protected my children, and rebuilt my home on my own terms.
I turned off the bathroom light and walked downstairs to join my family, completely in love with the woman I saw in the mirror.
