After Dumping the Billionaire, the Genius Surgeon Makes a Powerful Comeback

na's

its long hand mercilessly ticking past ei

going pathetically soft. This is my husband Xavier Harrington's favorite dish. The candlelight glinted of

n hour ago, "Xavier, are you on your way home? Dinner is ready,"

ings. One held a pair of custom-engraved cufflinks with his initials. The

day I had started preparing for a week ag

peful second, I thought she'd say, "Happy anniversary, Mommy." Instead, she'd

ie, his eyes never meeting mine in the mirror. "Savannah's exhibition

s eyes, I, a housewife, had no place at all in the daz

tomach, a hollow ache from th

before I tapped open Xavier's social media f

diluted pride. Savannah was holding Mia, who was clutching a small trophy and beaming. The caption read: "Congratulations to the brilliant Ms. Savannah S

" An icy fluid seemed to seep from my heart, sprea

awards ceremony. An event far more importa

. The dark screen reflec

le candle, shaped like the number "5," stood proudly in the center. I struck a

For five years, my wis

d in an

e rose, carrying the last cloying s

ion, tossed them into the roaring flames. Then came the princess doll. The plastic warpe

g but ash. Five years of hope an

prepared, now cold, food into the trash. The Beef Wellington. The black truffle mashed pota

ver known settled over me. It wasn't

ast look. This room, which I once

t and didn'

he thought I had buried so deep, the one named "giv

ll, towards the study. A place I hadn't set foot in for

was time to