I ignored my mother-in-law’s demand to cook and scrub for her, so my husband tried to break me with two words….

They marched up my walkway like they owned it.

And when they reached my front door, Diane lifted her fist and started pounding.

I didn’t open the door.

Noah was at the kitchen table humming to himself, jelly on his cheek, blissfully unaware that my old life had parked itself outside my new one. I forced my voice to stay calm.

“Buddy,” I said, keeping my eyes on the camera feed, “let’s go to your room for a minute. Bring Dino.”