“Mom, you went to prison, and now you re aski
His words came out too harsh, too rehearsed for a kid.
Even Brad paused, glancing at his son.
He’d expected Sally to play the victim card, maybe demand some cash. After all, she’d married into the Zale family chasing their wealth. But divorce? That wasn’t on his radar.
Three years ago, she’d fought like hell to stay with them.
this had to be some trick to make them feel guilty
Now, after three years locked up, and beg her to stay.
Brad’s tone was razor-sharp. “Nick’s got a point. Where are you going without us, the Zales family? Sally, keep this up, and you’ll just embarrass yourself.”
Sally didn’t blink.
She waved down a taxi, brushing off the driver’s curious glance.
Before getting in, she turned to Brad and Nick.
“That’s my business,” she said, her voice calm. “I’ll send the divorce papers soon. Congrats. You’ll finally get to make Lena your wife and mom.”
Her words were flat, carrying a faint, bitter edge.
Without looking back, she left.
Brad watched her thin, shaky figure vanish into the cab. A spark of annoyance flared in his chest.
He’d only come to get her because his grandpa and Lena had nagged him to.
And she had demanded a divorce.
The old Sally would’ve been groveling with gratitude.
‘Fine. Let’s see what a convict like her could do,’ Brad thought to himself.
In the taxi, the dashboard TV blinked on, showing a clip of Lena’s latest interview.
“Lena, you’re a huge star now. Any plans to settle down?” the reporter asked with a grin.
On-screen, Lena’s eyes drifted to Brad and Nick in the crowd, her cheeks pink. “I’m so thankful for what I have.
“These past three years, I’ve had two amazing guys by my side through the hardest times.”
Their eyes locked, looking like the perfect family.
The driver, familiar with this route, piped up. “Just got out, huh? Bet you don’t know her. That’s Lena.
“Those Zale Group guys-her husband and kid. On her birthday, Mr. Zale lit up the whole sky with fireworks. Talk about a dream family, right? They’re all stars.”
Sally’s gaze flicked to the screen, her frail body lost in baggy clothes.
She stared at Lena, Brad, and Nick, quiet for a long moment.
Finally, her voice came, rough and distant. “Stars? Nah. They look more like jerks.”
While she was rotting in prison, they were propping Lena up, watching fireworks, and partying all night long.
Even after their coldness had dulled her, the irony still burned.
1/3
The driver muttered something, probably rattled by her comment and her hollow look fresh from prison. He didn’t push back.
Sally leaned back, shutting her eyes, pretending to nap.
The cab stopped at a house under her name.
Sally grabbed some cash from inside to pay the driver, then hit the supermarket for essentials-soap, toothpaste, a few groceries.
Three years ago, her accounts were frozen when she went in.
Now that she was out, she had just enough to scrape by for a while.
The crowd’s hustle felt like too much after so long.
When a cashier reached to scan her items, Sally flinched without thinking.
“You okay, ma’am?” the cashier asked, her voice soft with worry.
Sally shook it off, forcing a small, bitter smile.
She was fine. Just used to bracing for hits in prison.
Outside the store, her phone buzzed. It was Abigail Nell, her best friend.
When Abigail heard Sally was out, her voice brightened. “I was going to fly back early, but typhoons screwed up my plans. Are you back with the Zales, or…”
“I’m at Windmere Estates,” Sally said.
Abigail’s tone turned sharp. “Brad didn’t come get you? You’re still married, for crying out loud. He…”
“Abigail, I’m divorcing him,” Sally cut in as she clutched the phone tight.
Her voice, when she said it, was almost a whisper.
Before prison, Abigail had been her lifeline. She’d begged Sally over and over to walk away from Brad.
“Your husband and kid shouldn’t be your entire world,” she’d said. “You’re worth more than this. Dump him.””
But Sally kept holding on, hoping Brad would change.
“What happened to you… in there?” Abigail’s voice broke, fading out.
Abigail’s chest tightened. She choked on her words.
That first year, Abigail had visited Sally as much as she could.
But then her job sent her overNEZ
for
war reporting.
Three years later, the woman who’d held onto hope for Brad’s love was now set on divorce.
So Abigail couldn’t help wondering, “What has shifted?”
Sally didn’t answer, a flash of pain and emptiness crossing her face.
Abigail changed the subject. “After you got locked up, your aunt took over Willow Haven. Turned it into some tacky tourist spot. And Lena… Look, Sally, I’ll be back soon. We’ll figure this out together.”
Sally nodded and hummed slowly.
In the second year of her marriage, her dad had passed away.
In prison, her mom had fought for her, crying herself nearly blind and getting deathly sick. Sally had pleaded with Brad from behind bars to help save her.
2/3
She’d waited, desperate, only to learn her mom was gone.
And now, even her family’s estate had been taken.
Sally’s eyes went cold.
Then, with effort, she forced them to soften into a strained calm.
Three years in prison had flipped her life upside down. She’d endured endless pain inside.
She knew taking back what was hers would take time.
