Margot POV
That evening, the four of us sat down together for our first dinner in the new house.
There was cake and white wine, and for a while everything felt warm and almost happy.
My gaze was less cold, even when I looked at Simone.
I wanted to believe she’d truly changed.
If she had, I could tolerate her bad habits: the spending, the fussiness, and the selfishness.
She was still my mother, after all.
Whatever happened, I wanted our lives to move in the best direction possible.
I took a picture of the food on the table and sent it to Rhett:
“Ellen was discharged today, and we moved into our new home. We’re celebrating. I made everything except the cake.”
A little while later, he replied, "Congratulations."
I smiled to myself.
It was quietly wonderful to share an ordinary, tr
