Chapter 3

3.

As I packed my bags, JJ stood in the doorway, watching me.

“Mom, are you really leaving?” he asked, a hint of uncertainty finally in his voice.

I stopped and knelt to meet his eyes. “JJ, I will always be your mother. But you chose to live with your dad, and I respect your choice.”

“Will you still come see me?”

“You can call me if you need me.”

JJ thought for a moment, then said in a tone that tried to sound grown-up, “Serena said she’ll take me to lots of cool places and teach me things. I think… you’re always just boring at home.”

I took a deep breath and stood up.

“Emily,” Sebastian blocked my path. “Where are you going? I’ll have the driver take you.”

“No need. I’ve already called an Uber,” I refused. “I spent so long trying to play the part of a proper lady in a world that wasn't mine. Now, I'm free.”

The moment I stepped out the door, I heard JJ whisper, “Finally… she’s so annoying anyway.”

Sebastian’s voice was a low hiss. “JJ! That’s enough!”

But I didn’t look back.

The second the elevator doors closed, I finally let myself cry.

Not for Sebastian, and not for JJ.

But for the nine years of myself that I had lost in the Sterling household.