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“It isn’t most places Madame Osei knows that better than most people,” his voice sounded aled the subject, shtly, “But that’s why you’re here! To discover yourself all over again The woe for the better That’s e give out so few of the recommendation cards She only wants the people who need to be here to come here”

“Who are the people who need to be here?”

“People like you People who need guidance to find theentle smile that made her heart flutter

She blushed and nodded, s as she took the candies, “Thank you, Marco I’ll see you again,” she said, heading toward the door He waved at her, his bright eyes crinkling in the corners when he gave her that boyish smile

Marie settled into her car and leaned back against the seat, closing her eyes and trying to cal heart This was incredible It was probably better that clients weren’t allowed to talk about this place Even if Rachel had told her about the wondrous place, she wouldn’t have believed her How could she? She’d never seen anything like this before

Her eyes opened slowly and she couldn’t help but to think back to all the people who had told her she wasn’t going to a They’d all told her she would be stuck in that tiny town and no one but her husband would love her

All the cruel words that had stung so badly we're rolling off her like water now She hadn’t even been there er She tossed her head back and let out a laugh that had been bubbling up within her since she’d left the warehouse She couldn’t explain why but she was happy for the first ti time

All of the pain she’d suffered at her husband’s hands was draining out of her body She sank against the seat of her car, relief washing over her She stared out her , trying to figure out if this was really real Was this actually happening? Or was she going to wake up and find herself miserable and alone in her own bed? She didn’t want to wake up She wanted this to be real and so she finally decided to stop questioning it The universe had brought her hear for a reason and she needed to be happy about it

Now all she needed to figure out hen she could go back and start her ‘journey’

Chapter Eleven

Marie sighed as she settled in for the night It had been a busy day, but she was o back to Mystique Richard was still gone, though she couldn’t say that she was too upset about that This wasn’t abnormal for him He would often disappear for days at a tio hole up with his friends and ignore her until his friends kicked him out or he needed money It was the same story every time, and somehow she always fell for it

She knew she let his that she shouldn’t have and she let hie of her, but she couldn’t help it She didn’t enjoy it, but at the end of the day, he was her baby boy and she loved him dearly What did any parent in her situation do? How could any parent just turn their child away even if they were a drug addict with no redee qualities? No parent wanted to admit that their child was a lost cause, but so to distract her, Marie felt those very things and it broke her heart

Her hand shook a little as she wiped away the tears that were starting to pool in the corners of her eyes She’d been in such a good ain She took a deep breath and shook her head, laying down for the night She wanted to fall asleep with good thoughts, not thoughts of how she ht be a failure as a parent

The silk sheets settled over her pale, nude skin and she sighed at the feeling She’d always enjoyed sleeping naked, but when she and Robert started living together

she’d stopped since he took her nudity as a sign of arousal, which was far from the truth It had been nice to return to her old self over the last few years, even if it was so able to sleep naked