Chapter Eighteen

Rosalie

Adrien's recent transformation is unsettling and unwelcome to me. Despite his efforts to change and atone for past actions, it's hard to overlook that just five years ago, he openly expressed his hatred towards me, even labeling me as pathetic, especially during my attempts to save our marriage fueled by love for him.

His return seems driven by the belief that a couple of smiles and kind words could magically undo the damage he inflicted. Yet, I've realized that the sole person capable of repairing the harm is myself. Through self-love and dedication to my children, I've accomplished that healing. There's no room for him in my life anymore.

Anticipating that shopping at the mall might spark unwarranted speculation about a rekindling of our past marriage, given that not everyone has forgotten our history, I proposed an alternative shopping destination.

I wanted to avoid the likelihood of people jumping to the unpleasant assumption that we were getting back together, and I