Chapter 2

Maeve’s POV

“Yes, I told you to put your career on hold—to take care of the house, the family. But I didn’t mean this. Can you imagine what my Don friends would say if I brought you to a party now? ‘Where did you find her, Adrian? In the homeless shelter?’ That’s what they’d whisper.”

But Adrian didn’t stop there.

“For years, I gave you everything,” Adrian said, his voice sharp. “The house. The money. Stability. All I ever wanted in return was a wife who could stand beside me. Be useful. Presentable.”

He shook his head. “I told you I’d make you my Donna. That one day, I’d bring you into my world. But look at you now. Do you really think I can?”

His eyes swept over me. “Greasy hair, blank-faced and your plus-size. You dressed like you’ve given up. Is that how you think you honor the promise we made to each other? Or are you just trying to humiliate me?”

“I didn’t have time for polishing myself. I was already too busy…”

Adrian didn’t even let me finish. With a bitter laugh, he added, “If I’d known staying home would turn you into this, I would’ve told you to keep chasing your little doctor dream. At least then, you might still be easy on the eyes.”

The words landed like a slap.

Aldrin scanned the dress one last time, then scoffed. “It’s ruined now. Go find something new for Viola tomorrow, or I’ll blame the whole night on you.”

He stormed out.

The silence that followed felt heavier than his anger. I turned to the table. The anniversary dinner I’d spent hours preparing sat cold and untouched. The candles flickered, forgotten.

Why tonight? Why, out of all nights, did I still think—hope—this one might be different?

“Mom?”

I turned around.

Cam, my son, stood at the edge of the room, frowning.

His voice was small but cutting. “Why are you dressed like… like a freak?”

A freak.

I swallowed hard, the shame crawling up my throat.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “The dress didn’t fit. I was just about to change.”

I turned away, unwilling to let him see my face.

Before I could leave the living room, Cam’s voice followed me—too close, too clear.

“Mom… I wish you’d try harder to make yourself more… presentable.” He hesitated, then pushed on. “Look at you. That’s why I don’t introduce you to my friends. I don’t want them to think my mom is just fat ugly maid.”

Each word landed carefully, deliberately.

“Dad took Aunt Viola to the parent-teacher conference,” he continued. “Everyone was jealous. She looked amazing. Can you… learn something from her?”

If Adrian’s words had cracked my heart, Cam’s reduced it to dust.

All the years I’d spent keeping this house running. Every sleepless night. Every meal cooked with care, every shirt folded just right—none of it mattered.

To them, I was only an embarrassment.

I wiped my tears away slowly. “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll make more of an effort.”

This time, I meant for myself.

…

I barely slept.

Sometime before dawn, soft noises drifted in from the hallway.

“Be quiet,” Adrian murmured. “Don’t let that stupid woman hear us.”

I opened the door a crack.

Adrian and Viola were there—pressed together in the dim hallway, hands roaming freely, mouths locked like they belonged to each other.

For a moment, everything inside me went cold.

I didn’t scream or step out.

I closed the door, walked back to bed and made one call.

“Yes, this is Maeve Calder,” I said steadily. “I’d like to accept your Africa office’s invitation with Doctors Without Borders.”

Before I married Adrian, I had a future in medicine. I’d given it up for him, for this family.

What he never knew—what none of them knew—was that I never truly stopped. I’d been volunteering quietly for years.

This year, they offered me a position at their new office in Africa.

At first, I said no. I couldn’t bring myself to walk away from my family.

But now that they’ve chosen to walk away from me—What did my loyalty ever mean?

So now, I choose myself, and I’m leaving behind everything that was never really mine to begin with.