“Ma’am, are you sure you want to leave all of this?” she asked, gesturing at the walls of my walk–in closet, lined with designer clot- hes and luxury brands.
They were all things George had purchased for me to wear to his endless functions.
“Elara, I don’t care what your life was like before,” he’d said. “But now that you’re a Cannon, you need to cover up that cheap, poor- girl stench. Don’t embarrass me.”
I shook my head, my voice light. “I don’t want any of it. Just help me pack up what’s left.”
The housekeeper looked troubled. “Ma’am… besides these things, there’s not much else of yours to pack.”
I paused, then couldn’t help but smile. She was right. In seven years of being married to George Cannon, I had accumulated very little that was truly mine. In this enormous villa, the only space that belonged to me was half of a king–sized bed.
George didn’t come home that night. I slept better than I had in years.
The next morning, I was ready to leave with my single suitcase. I left only one thing behind: a small snow globe.
It was the only gift George had ever given me in the entire span of our relationship, from dating to “marriage.” Back then, I was a new student in Port Sterling, and we’d had what felt like a whirlwind romance. He was charming and passionate, waiting for me on my way home from class every day just to talk for a few minutes.
He gave me the snow globe then. He told me he’d worked a part–time job for three days, his first time ever earning his own money, just to buy it for me. He said that just as the snow inside the globe would never melt, his love for me would never fade.
Chapter 1
I didn’t want his love anymore.
I checked into a hotel. It took less than a day for George to call.
“Elara, where the hell did you go?” he demanded. “Get your ass back here and get rid of this junk you
left
behind!”
11:55
“I don’t want it,” I replied calmly. “You can just throw it out.”
He was taken aback. “Are you serious, Elara?”
“Mm–hmm.” My voice was breezy. I truly didn’t care anymore. “Just toss it. It’s not important.”
That seemed to strike a nerve. “Not important? Do you have any idea that I-”
いい
I cut him off with a short laugh. “That you worked for three days to afford it? That model of snow globe retails for about ten dollars, George. What kind of part–time job pays so little?”
I’d learned the truth one night, long after we were married, when he was drunk.
=
picked up some random snow globe from a street vendor and you fell for it completely,” he’d slurred, laughing at me. “God, Elara.
You’re so cheap, so easy to fool.”
It was then I realized George hadn’t changed. He’d just gotten tired of pretending.
After hanging up, I went to my appointment at the law firm. The lawyer listened to my situation, his expression growing more trou-
bled by the second.
