CHAPTER 72 - This is for the Family.

The morning light filtered through the curtains, its gentle warmth falling on my face as I sat by the window, staring blankly at the notebook in my lap. A sigh escaped me as I traced the edges of the worn cover with my fingers, my thoughts wandering far beyond the present moment.

How did I get here? I used to have dreams, aspirations that didn’t revolve around survival or compromise. I thought about the girl I used to be, the girl who poured her soul into her writing, who could lose hours with a paintbrush in her hand. Where did she go? If only my mother was here.

“Is this really it?” I muttered to myself, leaning my head against the windowpane. My voice sounded foreign, almost hollow, as though it belonged to someone else.

Jade’s soft murmur broke through my thoughts. I turned toward her crib, where she slept soundly, her tiny face peaceful. My chest tightened with a mix of love and guilt. She was my everything now, my reason for every decision. But wasn’t I allowed to want something for myself, too?

“You deserve better than this, Jade,” I whispered. “And maybe…I do, too.”

I glanced back at the notebook. It had been years since I’d written anything just for me. My last story was a half-finished piece about a girl who escaped to a faraway land, a place where she could be free. Ironically, it was the same story I’d abandoned when my father told me I had a ‘responsibility’ to the family.

The weight of his words still lingered in the back of my mind. “This is for the family, Daphne. You’ll understand one day.”

Understand? I scoffed aloud, shaking my head. “No, Dad, I don’t understand. And I never will.” I spent the rest of the morning sulking, thinking and reflecting.

Later that afternoon, as Jade napped, I found myself sitting at my desk, staring at my laptop. My hand overed over the keyboard, trembling slightly as I debated whether to press it to type. Could I still do this? Could I still write something that mattered?

The first line was meaningless, awkward, but I didn’t stop. I wrote until the words spilled out faster than I could think them, messy and imperfect, but real. For the first time in a long time, I felt…alive.

A notification from broke my focus. I clicked it and saw an email notification. My heart skipped as I opened it and read the subject line: “Job Opportunity with Writer’s Corner”.

It was one of the biggest writing firms in the industry. They’d somehow found my old work and were offering me a position. The salary alone was enough to make my jaw drop, and the opportunity to work with established writers felt like a dream.

“Omg! This is a dream come true!" I exclaimed.

" Okay, okay, let's skim through the major details.” I said, my voice a little raised with excitement.

" What do we have here? Long hours, frequent travel, and a demanding workload?” My excitement faded as I realized what this would mean for Jade. I couldn’t imagine being away from her for days, even weeks, at a time.

I let out a shaky breath, shutting the laptop. “Why does every choice feel like a sacrifice?” I murmured, running a hand through my hair.

By the time evening rolled around, I’d made my decision. I sat in the nursery, staring at the draft of my polite rejection email. My finger hovered over the “send” button, hesitation tugging at me. Was I making the right choice?

“Daphne?”

Jayden’s voice startled me. I looked up to see him standing in the doorway, his gaze flickering to the sketchbook and the laptop on my lap.

“You’re writing again,” he said, more of a statement than a question.

“And painting,” I replied, my tone neutral.

He stepped closer, his hands in his pockets. “You’ve been busy.”

“I have,” I said simply, keeping my eyes on the email.

For a moment, he didn’t say anything. Then, “What’s that?” He nodded toward my phone.

“A job offer,” I admitted, glancing up at him.

His brows furrowed. “A job offer? From where?”

“Writer’s Corner,” I said, watching his expression shift.

“Wow,” he said, a hint of surprise in his voice. “That’s…huge. Are you going to take it?”

“No.”

The word came out more firmly than I expected, and his eyes widened slightly. “Why not? Daphne, this could be a big opportunity for you.”

“I know,” I said, closing the laptop. “But it’s not what’s best for Jade. I can’t leave her for days at a time, Jayden. She’s my priority.”

He frowned, his jaw tightening. “You don’t need to do this, you know. You don’t need to work so hard. I can take care of things. I can get her a nanny.”

I stared at him, my frustration bubbling to the surface. “ A nanny? You're very ridiculous!”

“What exactly do you want from me?” he snapped, his voice rising slightly.

“Just let me be.” I said, standing up. “I don’t think you even know what to do for yourself…”

“You always complain! I'm trying Daphne! I'm trying! Are you too blind to see that?” He snapped.

“Well and that's because you're always doing everything wrong!” I snapped back, my arms solidly akimbo.

“ You’re pushing yourself so hard, and for what? You don’t need to prove anything to anyone.”

“This isn’t about proving anything!” I shot back. “This is about finding a piece of myself that I lost because of this marriage, because of the choices that were made for me.”

Jayden’s face darkened, his frustration evident. “Look at you, you don't even care about yourself, about us!”

I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. “Everything I do is for Jade. And as for us…” I hesitated, the words catching in my throat. “You made it clear a long time ago that ‘us’ isn’t your priority.”

His expression softened for a moment, a flicker of guilt crossing his face. “That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” I challenged.

He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. Instead, he looked away, his shoulders tense.

“I’m not doing this to hurt you,” I said quietly, my voice trembling. “But I have to do what’s right for me and Jade. Even if that means doing it without you.”

Jayden turned back to me, his expression unreadable. “Is that what you want?”

“I don’t know what I want,” I admitted, tears welling in my eyes. “But I know what I need. And right now, I need to focus on being the best mother I can be. For her.”

The silence that followed was deafening, heavy with unspoken words and unacknowledged truths. Finally, Jayden nodded, stepping back toward the door.

“Do what you need to do, Daphne,” he said, his voice quiet but strained. “But don’t forget that I’m still here. Whether you believe it or not.”

He walked out, leaving me standing in the middle of the room, my chest tight and my mind racing.

I sank into the couch, burying my face in my hands. His words echoed in my head, mixing with my own doubts and fears.

Am I doing the right thing? Or am I just pushing him away out of fear that he’d hurt me again?