Almost a year passed before I saw Eleanor again.
By then, my life looked nothing like it had before Lauren’s wedding. The divorce had long been finalized, and I had moved into a smaller home overlooking White Rock Lake.
Friends asked why I had not kept the enormous estate Ethan and I once shared.
My answer was always the same.
“I don’t need a bigger house.”
What I needed was a lighter life.
For the first time in decades, my calendar was not filled with obligations belonging to other people.
No emergency wire transfers. No family crises. No last-minute rescues. No pretending someone else deserved the credit.
Instead, I rediscovered mornings.
Coffee on the patio. Long walks around the lake. Dinner with friends who knew me simply as Victoria, not as someone’s wife or financial safety net.
Peace turned out to be far more valuable than luxury.
