Chapter 8

The last three days before I left were strangely peaceful.

On the third to last day, Chloe sent me a photo collage she had meticulously stitched together.

On the left was a picture of Alexander, Chloe, and the kids at Disney World. The four of them were huddled together, heads touching, grinning ear to ear.

Chloe was holding that Hermès bag, and the kids were holding Mickey Mouse ice cream bars. They looked like the perfect American nuclear family.

On the right was a candid shot taken of my back. I was wearing an apron, bent over in the kitchen, scrubbing the grease trap of the industrial oven.

The caption was a line that pretended to be sweet but was dripping with venom:

"Squad goals vs. The Help. Thanks for doing the dirty work, sis. You really stay in your lane."

I looked at the screen, feeling absolutely no anger.

Calmly, I deleted the photo and began erasing every trace of my existence from the house.

I called 1-800-GOT-JUNK and sold off the old appliances—the ones I had kept running for years to save money.

I took all the "mom clothes" from the closet—the ones Alexander called "frumpy"—and bagged them up for the Salvation Army donation bin.

As for the sticky notes and cards Alexander had scribbled over the years? I fed them directly into the cross-cut shredder.

The evidence of my twenty years in this house was disappearing, bit by bit.

...

The morning of my departure.

I had just opened my eyes when I saw Alexander standing by the bed, holding my iPhone, his brow furrowed.

"Evelyn, Chase Bank just sent a fraud alert. A large sum was transferred out of your account. Where did you move the money?"

My heart skipped a beat.

I had transferred my private savings early that morning, not expecting him to wake up so soon.

I took the phone back without flinching, my voice steady. "Oh, that. I saw a new 529 College Savings Plan with a high interest rate. I put a lump sum in for Leo and Mia’s future tuition."

Hearing it was for the kids, Alexander’s frown vanished instantly. He didn't even bother to check the transaction details.

"Ah, good thinking. You handle the domestic finances; I trust your judgment."

As long as it didn't impact his spending money, he never cared about the household budget.

He leaned down and gave me a perfunctory peck on the forehead. "Evelyn, you really are the perfect domestic goddess."

I suppressed the urge to vomit and nodded. "Go shower. Breakfast is ready."

Alexander hummed a tune as he went to the en-suite bathroom.

I walked to the window and looked down at the back garden.

Chloe was already there, waiting.

After showering, Alexander used the excuse of "getting some fresh air" to go straight to the yard.

I stood behind the heavy velvet curtains on the second floor, watching coldly.

Chloe was dressed like a social butterfly today. The moment she saw Alexander, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck for a kiss.

Alexander feigned resistance for a second, then took control, wrapping his arm around her waist. They kissed passionately right in front of the English rose bushes I had planted with my own hands.

Only when Chloe had finished flirting and walked away satisfied did Alexander straighten his clothes and come back inside.

The moment he walked in, he started changing into his Italian suit, complaining as he did:

"Evelyn, what is this? The collar on this dress shirt is wrinkled. Did you forget to steam it yesterday?"

I looked at the hickey on his neck that the collar was barely hiding and said flatly, "I was tired. I forgot."

Alexander tutted impatiently. "What do you have to be tired about? All you do is housework. You can't even get the simple things right."

He lied smoothly as he tied his Windsor knot in the mirror:

"There's an important networking gala tonight. I need a plus-one. Chloe is free, so I'm taking her to get some exposure. I’ll be back late. Don't wait up."

I knew the truth. It was just a party in the Hamptons for trust-fund babies.

Chloe needed a rich date to show off, and Alexander was eager to oblige.

"Okay," I said.

Alexander checked his hair one last time and walked out the door, looking like a million bucks.

Slam.

As the front door closed, the house fell completely silent.

The mask of calm on my face finally cracked, replaced by the sheer euphoria of liberation.

I took out my phone and sent Alexander one final text:

"Alexander, I have prepared a gift for you. It is on the desk in the study."

After sending the message, I blocked the phone numbers of my husband, my son, and my daughter.

I even left the "Sterling Family" group chat without a second thought.

Dragging my packed suitcase, I walked out of the cage that had imprisoned me for half my life.

In the International Terminal at JFK, the PA system was announcing the final boarding call.

I walked over to a trash can. I popped the SIM card out of my phone and tossed the entire device—SIM and iPhone—into the bin.

I turned around, holding a one-way ticket to Paris, and walked through the security checkpoint without looking back.

From this moment on, the frumpy, invisible housewife named Evelyn was dead.

There was only a free, independent Evelyn.