es and polite chatter filled the air as I looked around the scene. Here I am, among the titans

I belonged here in the midst of business elites, not just as Nicholas Jackwood's wi

mained. This was my first pop event as Nicholas's wife. I attended once

mark at the ready for every social encounter. But while his gaze flitted across the room, it lin

urned late from his unfinished business. He wasn't just here for business deals or social niceti

on't be a silent bystander in this ballroom. Tonight, I would play my part, hold my head high, and perhaps, I would find my own voice and my healing. May

t of him flitting from social butterfly to social butterfly, each interaction punctuated by a fl

ay the game even if I wasn't a match for him in this game. This was, after all, the world

es and a warm smile. Julian Bergen, a fellow entrepreneur I'd met at a conference, praised my recent victory against my conniving uncle, his words laced with admiration.

ut my fight for my father's company, my voice gaining strength and confidence with each word. I listened to their insights, their ideas sp

ting cage of my marriage. Perhaps, I mused, there was a way to navigate this world on my own terms. Maybe I should con

cholas, the expression on his face was a mask of forced amusemen

me, a welcome escape from the impending confrontation with Nicholas. Tonight, I didn't have the strength to ask him about whatever

o another, I noticed Nicholas staring at me from the other side of the ballroom. If he was bothered, he w

stood beside me. "You know," she slurred, her voice thick with cocktails, "marriage isn't a

investor, or perhaps a plus-one with a penchant for overindulgence. Either way,

tand," I stammered,

Everyone wanted him. But you see, I didn't enter marriage like a battlefield. No weapons, just roses." S

e. Her garbled message, delivered in a tipsy haze, somehow res

aybe there was truth in her nonsensical ramblings. What does it mean to bring roses to a battlef

strength and happiness. I would seek help, a therapist who could guide m

ffer it, and start focusing on being a better woman, a strong woma

difference was the contrast of the hope I had felt rek