My place was never in a kitchen serving a woman sleeping with my husband. It was never in the shadow of a man whose self-worth depended on draining mine. It was never in obedience to mediocre people terrified of a woman they could not control.
My place was above all of it.
As the sun dropped lower, turning the sky gold and crimson, a shadow crossed the deck. I looked up and saw a successful tech investor from the neighboring villa walking toward me with two fresh glasses of champagne. I had met him earlier that week while swimming. He was kind, intelligent, and—more importantly—he spoke to me as though my mind was the first thing he noticed.
“I thought you might want another,” he said, offering me a glass. “The sunset’s supposed to be incredible.”
I took it and looked out across the horizon.
“It already is,” I said.
Our glasses touched with a clean, bright ring, and for the first time in a long time, the future felt exactly like it should have—wide open.
