Chapter 5

Dragging my suitcase, I embarked on my first solo trip in eight years.

No, this wasn't just a trip. This was my rebirth.

I booked a one-way ticket to Bangkok, Thailand, and spent my days surrounded by gorgeous, attentive cabana boys.

In the past, I would have thought, I need to keep my distance from other men. I have to be a loyal, modest wife.

Now? Screw Daniel.

I had a handsome, muscular young man slice my steak and pour my champagne, feeding me directly from his hands.

Looking at their perfectly sculpted abs, I realized my mouth was watering way before my tears could even form.

Back then, Daniel had won me over by delivering cheap breakfast to my dorm every morning.

And yet, he was the one who ended up treating me like garbage.

I opened my phone camera. The woman in the screen was glowing, her eyes bright with a spark that had been dead for years.

This is what money and freedom feel like.

Suddenly, I understood what my older sister, Kristy, had told me years ago: "A woman should never keep a man in her heart."

Back then, I had argued with her, thinking she was some radical feminist. I believed in equal love, in building a nest together.

Kristy had sighed and corrected me. "I want your heart to be free of men, Aurora. That doesn't mean your bed has to be empty."

I had frowned, thinking she was just cold and didn't understand true love. How pathetic, I thought.

But now, I realized she was a genius.

I hit the record button on Snapchat, capturing a video of myself laughing as two handsome guys fed me grapes.

"I’m officially free! No Daniel, no Harris. I’ve never been happier!"

"I gave everything to that house, and in the end, my own son looked down on me."

"He called me a petty mother. He said I didn't deserve to spend his father’s money."

"If I could go back eight years, I would have run away from him."

"Instead of wasting my youth being a free, unappreciated nanny."

"Now, Daniel is trash to me. And honestly? Screw Harris too."

I posted the video to my public story. At the very end, I showed my divorce papers and the custody agreement where I had waived my parental rights.

To get the divorce quickly, I had agreed to leave with nothing.

We didn't own the apartment anyway, and his beat-up car wasn't worth anything. Signing away custody in exchange for zero child support obligations was the best bargain of my life.

After posting, I called Kristy.

"Kristy, I did it. I’m divorced. I’m single."

"You always said spending money on men brings bad luck, which is why you never lent me money to support Daniel. I get it now."

Ding.

My phone vibrated. I looked down. Kristy had sent me $50,000 via PayPal.

"Kristy, I gave up custody of Harris too."

Ding.

Another $50,000.

I quickly accepted the transfers, feeling the warmth of my sister’s love.

"Let me know if you need more. When you’re done partying, come work at my company," Kristy said before hanging up.

Kristy had started her own tech company after college, and it had recently gone public.

Lately, she was preparing to acquire a smaller tech startup—the very startup Daniel worked for.

With a suddenly massive bank account, I felt like a brand new woman.

Had those eight years of being locked up in Daniel's "love" really been worth it?

I got nothing but wrinkles, insults, and a shattered self-esteem.

Maybe Daniel did love me once, but he used that love, my responsibility for Harris, and my moral guilt to keep me under his thumb for eight years.

Without Daniel backing him up, Harris would have never dared to treat me like that.

I promised myself I would never think about those two again.

But they forced their way back into my mind because my casual Snapchat video went viral.