Standing from the bed, I pull a fluffy robe from the back of a chair and wrap myself in it. I reach over and pull open a small drawer in my second-hand dresser. Decorating my new apartment on the budget of my first job has been starkly different than any of the lavish spending I did as Mrs. Kensington.
But I love every piece better because I paid for it with money I earned.
From the open drawer, I pull out my wedding band. My marriage to Aaron had no ceremony, no blessing, no witnesses, no engagement ring. Only this band has ever symbolized my connection to Aaron.
I treasured it for years, allowing myself to believe that it was somehow proof that he loved me. The brief happiness it provided had been enough for a while. Even after I left him, it somehow felt easier to walk away from Aa
