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Sample Chapter

“GWEN? IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE?”

Gwen turned away from the kitchen window overlooking the backyard to face Al, one of the moving men who’d spent the morning emptying her home. Everything she’d built her life around was now just an empty shell. A skeleton.

She forced a smile. “Have you put Nigel on the truck?” Nigel was a mannequin she’d had for years—named by her son, Zac, who was obsessed with the name in kindergarten.

“Nigel’s on the truck,” Al assured her, smiling gently.

She didn’t see the immaculate flowerbeds anymore. She saw her little boy hopping across steppingstones, arms outstretched for balance. She saw dreams fading, memories clinging like dust motes in the sunlight. And now... she was alone.

She’d stayed in a broken marriage for Zac’s sake. She told herself it was the right thing—but standing in that hollow kitchen, she wasn’t sure anymore. And now, she was moving to Misery Beach. Alone. Divorced. Unsure. But maybe... hopeful.

She whispered aloud, “It’s an adventure. A fresh start. Time to find the real Gwen.”

And with that, she closed the door behind her—and began again.