“Mom… are we going home?”
I steadied myself.
“Let’s go somewhere safe.”
Behind us, I heard it—
The pop of a champagne bottle.
They brought champagne… to celebrate the end of my marriage.
Then Grant’s phone rang.
He answered without thinking, still smiling.
But within seconds, everything changed.
His expression darkened.
His body went rigid.
Sabrina stopped laughing.
Her mother’s smile disappeared.
And then he said, low and tense:
“What do you mean?”
Grant’s voice didn’t sound like his anymore.
It wasn’t confident.
It wasn’t relaxed.
It was tight.
Sharp.
“What do you mean?” he repeated, louder this time.
The laughter around him faded. His brother stopped mid-sentence. Sabrina’s hand slipped from his arm, her smile frozen in place.
I didn’t turn around right away.
I didn’t want to.
Because for the first time since the divorce was finalized… something felt different.
The balance had shifted.
Owen tugged gently at my hand.
“Mom?”
I exhaled slowly, then glanced back over my shoulder.
Grant had stepped away from the group. His back was tense, shoulders stiff, one hand pressed against his forehead.
