Chapter 39 - The First Anniversary
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A year had passed since the divorce was finalized.
Claire didn't realize the date until Nora casually mentioned it over drinks at a local wine bar.
"Happy independence day," Nora cheered, raising her glass.
Claire looked at her calendar app, surprised.
"I completely forgot."
"That," Nora declared, taking a sip of her Pinot Grigio, "is the ultimate victory. When the date that used to break your heart becomes just another Tuesday."
"It feels like a different lifetime," Claire admitted, staring into her glass.
"Do you ever miss it?" Nora asked gently. "The stability? The predictable chaos?"
Claire thought about it. She thought about the beautiful, suffocating mansion, the endless galas, the constant, exhausting vigilance required to keep Daniel from self-destructing.
"I miss the person I thought he could be," Claire answered honestly. "But I don't miss the man he actually was. And I definitely don't miss the woman I had to become to survive him."
Nora smiled proudly, clinking her glass against Claire's.
"To the woman you are now."
May you like
"To her," Claire agreed, drinking deeply.
She walked home that night through the city streets, the cool air brushing against her face. She didn't feel lonely. She felt entirely, unapologetically whole.
