Prologue

PROLOGUE

Gabby

" I want a divorce." I barely get the words out of my dry mouth. I've never been so scared to speak before, but I've also never felt so unappreciated or stifled. There's too much that has happened between us, and now I'm prepared to permanently end it. It isn't as if he's landed blows with his hands, but he has with his words. The only difference now? I'm way more prepared to take them.

Jeff glares at me, a smirk I've come to know far too well on his face. It's what I see every time I decide to make a decision for myself and stand up. He always tries to push me down and make whatever decision about him, instead of about what I want. I've been thinking of this longer than I should have before it came to this.

"What are you going to do without me, Gabby? I make the most money between the two of us. I provide for the life you like to live. There's no way you're going to make it without me. All you want to do is open that stupid bakery you keep talking about. That's not going to pay the bills, now is it? If you think I'm going to be okay with you using my money in order to do it, you've lost your mind." He raises his eyebrows, smug smirk on his face. "You signed the prenup, or do you not remember?"

I hate him; everything about this man that I thought I loved, I hate it. He's not the polite, nice man I thought he was when we first started dating. I was so fucking naive, and I didn't see it, until now. Too late. "No, it won't, but I'll be happy at least, and I won't come after your money, Jeff. I promise you that. Just give me enough to live off of for a few months. You and I both know that's way less than what I'll get if we go to court."

He tilts his head to the side and crosses his arms over his chest. "You think you have this all figured out, don't you?"

I nod, swallowing roughly. "I do. You don't love me anymore, and I know I don't love you anymore. Let's stop making each other miserable and just let it go. I don't want a portion of your wealth." Never-mind it's his family wealth, not his. He likes to throw that in my face more often than not. Yes, I have become accustomed to a certain standard of living, but I will learn. I'll learn it all, especially to be happy.

He reaches into the pocket of his suit coat, pulling out a checkbook. "You better not come back to me for anything else. This is all you're getting from me." He signs the check with a flourish.

"It's all I want." I swallow roughly, as I grab hold of the check he's offering. When I see the amount, I realize it's going to be tight. He didn't give me one cent more than what it will take for me to make it for a year without him. But I will somehow do this. I will learn how to budget, I will force this man to eat all the horrible words he has said to me over the years. At the bottom, I see that he put paid in full. As if I'm some debt that he's been chiseling away at for a number of years.

"Bye Gabby. Hopefully you'll fail spectacularly." He takes off his wedding ring, throwing it in the trash.

I immediately get in my car and drive toward the bank, because I want to make sure he doesn't stiff me on the check. I don't put it past him to stop payment on the check, so I take it out in cash, carefully counting the money and placing it in an envelope.

"Have a good day." The teller smiles, completely unaware that my life is in essence imploding in this moment.

But is it really? I finally have hope. The type of hope I didn't have when I woke up this morning. Things will be hard, they always are, but I know I can struggle by myself, I can be miserable by myself and be happier than I was with him.

My life is not imploding. It's morphing into something else, I'm allowing myself to be pliant, and shift into something that's uncomfortable. It's for the better, and I'll thank past me.

Beside the bank is a thrift store. I've seen it every time I've come here, but it's never drawn me in like it does today. I walk in, and walk around, enjoying the smell of all the old things. There's a past in these things, they hold the knowledge that made them valuable enough to still be wanted after all these years. There's love and hurt, success and failure, everything that makes people who they are. When you touch those things, you can get a feeling about them. Kind of figure out which it was.

"Can I help you?" the person working the front counter asks as I look around.

I find myself dragging my finger across some of the old things, feeling as if some of those memories are still alive in those pieces. Glancing around, I don't see what I'm looking for, and while I'm kind of scared to ask for what I want, I know I'm not going to get it unless I do ask. That's one of the issues I had with Jeff. I never put my hopes and dreams, needs and wants, into words.

Now is the time, and I have to be specific. I have to ask the Universe for what I want.

"I'm looking for some baking supplies, do you have anything like that?"

The cashier smiles brightly. "Oh girl, I have the thing for you. We just got it this morning."

I follow her to where she takes me into the back of the shop, and there it is. It's one of those Kitchen Aid mixers that I've wanted for years, but Jeff would never allow me to purchase. It's been used, and when I touch it I can feel so much love in this piece of equipment. It was successful, especially if I'm judging by the scuffs and scars in the red enamel paint. It's been used, lovingly. I can imagine a mother or grandmother standing there with their son or daughter, making cookies on Christmas. The traditions this thing has seen. I want to make those with what will end up being my forever family, not with a man who doesn't appreciate me and my dreams. "How much is it?" I whisper, looking at the price tag.

It reads twenty-five dollars.

I don't want to purchase this with his money, so I go into my purse and with every little bit of money and change there is, I come up with the amount, as well as the tax. Picking it up, I carry it to the checkout counter, and pay for it, with a smile on my face. It's an accomplishment I haven't had previously, a pride I'd lost somewhere along the way with Jeff.

"What are you going to do with it?" the cashier asks as she rings me up, popping a bubble with the gum she's chomping on.

My voice is full of emotion when I say these words. "Build the rest of my life..."