Seeing how stubborn Victoria was, Sally shot up from the couch, fuming. “Victoria, what’s your problem? Am I really that unreasonable? Have I wronged you?”

“It’s been so many years, and you didn’t give birth to a child, and I never said a word about it. What’s with your attitude now?”

Sally just got angrier, her face flushed red. Basically, she was calling me stubborn, heartless, ungrateful, and blind to my own good fortune.

I didn’t know how to tell Sally that I didn’t want either Jared or Yvonne. “Mom, I know you’re upset, but my decision isn’t going to change,” I repeated firmly, taking a deep breath.

“Have you lost your mind, Victoria? Does your family even know about this divorce? Why are you trying to break up a perfectly good family? When you and Jared got married, you swore you’d grow old together. I heard every word of your vows. Why do you have to do this?” Sally choked up, tears streaming as she buried her face in her arms. “You two were doing fine as a couple, and now you want a divorce? What about Yvonne? She’s just a kid. Do you know what a family is? A family’s like a house: the father is the frame, the mother is every brick and stone that holds it together. As long as you and Jared are good, Yvonne has a home. If you split up, do you have any idea how sad she’ll be?”

I let out a soft sigh. “Mom, that’s enough. I know all that. Yvonne’s not a little kid anymore. She’ll be starting elementary school this September. She’ll get it. Isn’t it just as much torture for her to grow up in a family without love!”

“She’s just a kid. She wouldn’t understand,” Sally yelled at me. “Do you have another man out there? Is Jared not good enough for you anymore?”

I was momentarily stunned that if a woman wanted a divorce, everyone would assume there was another man in the picture. Removing people’s prejudices was truly difficult.

“Mom, before the divorce is final, I won’t get involved with any other man, I won’t cheat on Jared. I’m just getting a divorce. It’s not like I’m some kind of criminal. Why do you always need me to justify myself? Why do you have to make me out to be the villain?” I raised my voice a little. I could listen to all their lectures, but I was never going to agree to what they said.

Sally stared at me in surprise, clearly taken aback by how firm I was being.

I slumped back onto the couch, looking at Sally. “I’ll discuss it with Jared, Mom. Thank you for all your care and understanding. You’ve been a wonderful mother-in-law. Someday, you’ll have a better daughter-in-law.”

Sally blinked, and then suddenly snatched up her bag and stood up. “Honestly, I just can’t figure out what you young people are thinking, or what you even want these days.” With that, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

I knew it wouldn’t be long before my parents heard about this, and then they’d show up in no time, trying to talk some sense into me.

I’d been staying at the apartment for three days, and the only times I saw Jared were those brief moments when we bumped into each other at work. He was busy with a business trip to Shaville, so he was hardly around.

Yvonne was staying with Sally, but every now and then she’d send me a message. She’d just figured out how to use the camera on her phone, so she kept sending me snapshots of wherever she was playing. Mostly, I just looked at them, and replied once in a while.

The project was moving along even faster than we’d planned. After a meeting with the execs, we realized we still needed input from different parts of the country before locking in our room designs.

So I took the initiative, rounded up my team, and started prepping for trips to all the top entities.

Before I knew it, more than a week had flown by, and the market research was done. Work really made me shine again.