Chapter 9 - The New BeginningOne year later, Clara opened the Sterling Women's Opportunity Center.
Its mission was simple.
Help women rebuild financially after divorce, abuse, betrayal, or abandonment.
The first woman who walked through the doors was a single mother named Rebecca.
She looked nervous.
"I don't know where to start."
Clara smiled.
"Neither did I."
Rebecca looked surprised.
"You?"
Clara nodded.
"Everyone starts somewhere."
She handed Rebecca a folder.
"Let's begin."
That evening, Clara returned home.
Her house was quiet.
There were no insults.
No arguments.
No footsteps belonging to someone who wanted to control her.
She walked into the kitchen.
The marble sink was spotless.
She smiled.
Then she opened a cabinet.
Inside was the same wine glass that had shattered the night Julian left.
She had kept one small fragment.
Not as a reminder of pain.
As a reminder of the woman she had been.
Clara touched it gently.
May you like
Then she closed the cabinet.
She didn't need it anymore.
