"I think you've just been run ragged taking care of the kids at home lately. Alex barely even notices how hard you work."
At the mention of Alexander, Danielle pressed her lips together. "He's just busy with work."
She had no intention of telling the old lady about their impending divorce.
In her previous life, when Niki died, three whole days passed before Alexander even found out.
On the day Niki died, her grandmother had come to their home, insisting she and Alexander return for a family dinner. Danielle told her grandmother that she and Alexander were getting divorced.
She didn't mention Niki's death, or how miserable and cold her marriage had become. Just the word "divorce" was enough—her grandmother immediately understood Alexander had treated her poorly. The guilt made the old woman so ill she never recovered.
Danielle's grandmother and the old lady had been lifelong friends, so Danielle had always thought of her as a real grandmother too.
She couldn't let something like that happen again. Even if she had to tell the truth one day, she needed to ease into it.
The old lady shook her head. "You're just too soft on him. He cares less and less about this family."
Danielle thought, If I could control Alexander, would my marriage have ended up like this?
Men only let themselves be managed if they care about you. If they don't, who are you to them anyway?
The old lady took out a delicate little box and handed it to Niki. "This is a gift from your great-grandmother and your great-great-grandmother."
"Thank you, Nana. Thank you, Great-Grandma."
Danielle paused. Her grandmother?
Her grandmother had passed away years ago…
The old lady looked at Danielle, her voice gentle. "Your grandmother and I grew up together. We went through everything side by side—school, marriage, raising children. She left before me and never got to meet Niki."
"This emerald," she continued, "your grandmother and I spent a month in the mountains searching for it. She made me promise to have it set into a bracelet for Niki."
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