LAUREN'S POV

“I’ve divorced him,” I whispered to myself as though saying it aloud could make it feel more real, more justified. “I’ve divorced him. I don’t owe him anything anymore.”

But that excuse felt paper-thin. It was all still so new, the reality of being separated, of living without Ethan by my side. My life felt like an empty house I was still trying to walk through without bumping into walls.

“Stop thinking about Ethan in every sentence,” I muttered with a forced laugh. The sound was hollow in the quiet car. That was something Tessa would have told me if she were sitting beside me now, rolling her...