LOVE AGAIN

CHAPTER TWO

“Typical of you to leave your child in the middle of the storm,” Sara said. Her voice trembled as she stood in the kitchen, facing Edward. “You are going to fight me for everything, aren't you? The business, the house, every single thing?” Edward looked at her with a flash of anger in his expression. “All I'm doing is protecting my interests, Sara,” he said her name like it was bitter to say. “You are the one trying to leave, you are lucky I let you keep Milly. For now at least” he smiled. Sara could not believe her ears, where was the loving man she had fallen in love with all these years, it was obvious he had harboured so much hate for her, she was losing the rights to soft contours and the house and she could not understand how. The court was so unfair to her. “At least I would be far from this toxic marriage” she spat, anger taking over her other emotions. “I just did not expect you to take away this business from me, you know how hard I worked for this, how could you? how long have you had this planned?” she asked with a teary eye.

“Enough of this, I am done with this argument, you will get what the court decides,” Edward said, his tone dripping with irritation. Sara took one long look at him and knew she had to get her and Milly out of there, this place was already too toxic. She grabs her keys and walks out of the house.

‘Mommy, where are we going?” Milly asks Sara as she is strapped to the back seat of the car. She had been at the children's Thanksgiving camp during the court process and while she did not want to be far from her, Sara did not want her to watch things fall apart between her and Edward. Sara's eyes stung at that question just as it has for the past couple of days. “Mommy, why are we packing?” “Mom where is Dad” and on those days Sara would give her stories and tell her he was on a trip. She wondered why he had not come to check with their child. A wave of panic washed over her, she worried that he was in a bad situation, but she had to remind herself that, that was not her cross to carry, she just wished he didn't dump the whole explanation on her. “We are going to my hometown love, for Christmas, you’d love it there”

Sara had called her brother Joseph to explain the situation and he told her to come all the way, he had missed her and wanted to be there for her. Her brother had a toy store in their hometown and was making enough to keep himself and his fiance comfortable. She just hoped she was not about to put him in an uncomfortable position. They agreed that she would move to her parents' Cabin since it was just her and Milly. The cabin had enough bedrooms, a living room, and a little patio behind. She always wondered why Joseph never moved in there, it was not so far from where he stayed, but he preferred to keep the place for the holidays. Their hometown was Ukiah in California. She moved out at age 20 and came home every Christmas till her parents passed. Sara was glad to reunite with her brother she only wished it was under better circumstances. Sara was trying so hard to hold in the emotions, her world was crashing she couldn't express her pain. They had stopped at a nearby gas station for a refill, potty time, and lunch. Milly was a good girl and Sara was so grateful because the trip was on for a lot of hours. At nightfall, they stopped at a little guest inn and rested for the night. Sara could barely sleep, she thought about her customers, her workers who she let off briefly, and her reputation. She risked taking a look at her socials, she opened her phone and to her dismay, her name was all over the press news in bold letters. The Chicago fashion gods had a blog about her with a title; SARA AND EDWARD SMITH DIVORCE AFTER A CHEATING SCANDAL. In the new times; “Sara the authentic fashion icon and CEO of Soft Contours loses her rights to her company and her ex-husband is said to be the new boss in town”. She was also trending on i********: and Twitter with fans on her side and a couple of critics calling her stupid for signing such a deal. Her name was everywhere and she just could not deal with everything. In the same week, she had let her personal assistant who had been on a family vacation off, telling him his services were no longer needed. Her life was a mess at the moment and she wanted to be far from everything, as far as possible. She just wanted to focus on creating a better life for her kid, away from the drama, she wanted a chance to start over.

Morning came, and after a few sluggish minutes, they were back on the road, she kept her mind focused and still, stopped for a potty break for Milly, and kept moving. They got to Ukiah just before evening, the town was bustling with activities, and with the spirit of Christmas filling the air, she felt a sense of nostalgia as she passed a lot of stores she used to go to as a kid and as a teen. By the time she got to the cabin she was sore and tired, the moving van would be here in a few days with the rest of her belongings so she only came out with a few boxes. Her brother was already there waiting for her. They got out of the car, Sara unstrapped Milly and brought out their luggage. Her brother was so happy to see her, he hugged her and practically lifted her, Sara was glad she was home again.” Who is this beautiful princess” Joseph said as he looked at Milly, “go say hi to your uncle Joseph Milly” said Sara as her daughter hid behind her leg shyly. “Hi u-uncle, I-I’m Milly,” said Milly as she tried her best to give a polite smile to her uncle. He lifted her and tickled her for a bit, easing her of the tension. He could tell they both needed to rest so he gave them a hand with their luggage and walked with Milly towards the cabin. Sara stood outside for a bit, watching the streets and looking longingly, and then thought to herself. “Here’s to starting over”.