when she ended things, that piece went missing again. She was right, I would never be happy in this life. It was something I had needed to achieve, to prove to myself that what I had sacrificed wasn’t for nothing.
“Robert, I think I want to change our plans going forward.”
“In what way?”
“I don’t want to leave Chicago.”
“Rebecca, you know what that-“
“I know. I have another idea. I have enough video and audio feed to prove his infidelity. But I don’t think he really cares about his reputation at this point. After hearing the latest audio, I think what he really wants is to run off with the nanny and be happy. So, what if we put a proposal together for him, something that offers him a decent living, but gives him no ownership in my companies?”
“Do you really want to do that after everything he’s done?”
She smiled sadly. “What about everything I’ve done? No, I think it’s time I take responsibility for the part I played in the destruction of our marriage. Besides, if I don’t leave the city, I don’t have to uproot my kids’ lives. We can share custody and try and give some kind of normalcy to them.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
She glanced around my office, like she was looking at what it represented, and nodded. “Yes, this is what’s best for everyone.”
When she left, I looked around my office, much like she just had and saw what she saw…things that made you feel like you had accomplished something, but also tore you apart and left you feeling empty.
Anna
I stood in line at Mary Anne’s bakery, waiting to order my coffee and babka. Not that it really mattered. Food was tasteless to me. Coffee was just fuel to keep me going. I didn’t have the energy to do anything. I just wanted to sit on my couch and stare at the wall. Luckily, Eric was working, which meant that I was working. It kept me from going insane.
It was the day before New Year’s Eve, six days since I’d last seen Robert, and every day was more depressing than the last. I kept running through everything I had said to Robert on the evening of our fake wedding. I wondered if I had done the right thing. I wondered if I had given him a chance if we could have made it work. But every time I thought about staying with him and moving to Chicago, I remembered how much I hated it there. No, I had made the right decision, and I would get over Robert, just like I had all those years ago.
“Anna?”
I blinked up at Mary Anne and gave a half-hearted smile. “Hi, Mary Anne.”
“What can I get for you today? My machine is broken right now, so no lattes.”
I went to tell her that was fine, but for some reason, getting the babka without the latte made me sad. It was like my life was that babka, so delicious, but so lacking without the perfect latte to accompany it. I blinked back tears, and swiped at the stray ones that streaked down my face.
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. I think I have some of those premixed cappuccinos,” Mary Anne said, slightly panicked.
“It’s no use,” I cried. “The babka went with the latte.”
“Well, what about hot cocoa?”
“Hot cocoa? Hot cocoa! Do you really think that just anything can replace the latte? It’s not that easy! You can’t just decide to have babka without a latte! It doesn’t work that way!” I shouted.
She stood there staring at me, complete shock on her face.
“What if we do donuts instead today?” she asked gently.
“Sure,” I swiped at my face. “Why not? Let’s just reinvent everything about my morning breakfast and see if that solves everything. Donuts are nothing like babka! Don’t you see? That’s the problem. Donuts could never be babka. You can’t just decide one day to become a different pastry! It’ll never work! Which is why babka can’t go with a cappuccino. They just don’t go well together.”
“Anna? Everything okay?” Jack asked from behind me. I turned around, tears spilling down my cheeks to see Jack standing there with Carter.
“Does everything look okay? The latte machine isn’t working. I can’t have babka without my latte.”
He nodded, like he completely understood me. “Okay, maybe we should skip the bakery this morning.”
“Right!” I threw up my hands. “Because that would make everything right. Just run away from the lack of delicious drinks in the