Chapter 3 - Stepping Into the Light
The apartment was suffocatingly quiet when Elizabeth unlocked the door. The living room was still decorated with framed photographs of her and Larry—vacations in Hawaii, anniversaries, and holidays spent catering to Kathleen’s endless demands.
Without wasting a second, Elizabeth dragged two large suitcases from the closet and began throwing her clothes into them. She didn't cry. Instead, a cold, focused energy drove her forward. She packed her professional clothes, her books, her electronics, and the awards she had won during her marketing career—awards Larry had once dismissed as "unnecessary work obsession."
As she zipped the second suitcase, her phone began vibrating incessantly. Texts from Larry flooded in:
Where are you? Mom is in the hospital and you're running away like a coward.
The guests are arriving. People are asking questions. Answer me right now, Elizabeth.
You humiliated my family. You need to come to the hospital and apologize to my mother immediately or we are through permanently.
Elizabeth let out a dry, humorless laugh. Or we are through permanently. As if that was still a threat. She blocked his number, block-listed Kathleen, and muted all mutual friends who might act as flying monkeys for the family.
By noon, a moving van she had booked online pulled up outside. With the help of the movers—and Jenna, who had arrived with takeout coffee and moral support—all of Elizabeth's belongings were loaded into the truck within an hour.
Standing on the sidewalk outside the apartment building, Elizabeth took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air.
May you like
“What’s next, boss?” Jenna asked, leaning against her car.
“Next, I check into a boutique hotel downtown for a few days, change my phone number, and Monday morning, I walk into my office and pitch my new marketing campaign to the senior partners,” Elizabeth said with a fierce, brilliant smile. “My real life starts right now.”
