The Ugly Wife’s Stunning Comeback novel Chapter 8

Sandy’s face went cold. She shot up, palms hitting the table with a sharp smack. “Felicia!”

Felicia didn’t even look back. She just walked away.

Back at her desk, Felicia pulled out a small mirror, checking the thin scratch on her cheek. It was shallow, barely there. She dabbed at it with a wet wipe. No need to fuss over it. On a face like hers, one more mark didn’t make much difference.

She kept thinking about that girl from earlier. There was something oddly familiar about her.

Right before the end of the workday, her phone rang. It was her dad Colton. Her brother Greg had come home and wanted her to join them for dinner.

Her mood lifted instantly. “Greg’s back? I thought he wasn’t coming until the fifteenth.”

“He wrapped things up early,” Colton replied.

“Alright. I’ll come by after work.”

Felicia drove home to the Ross family apartment. It was a spacious, secondhand unit in a newish complex on the west side of the city. Colton ran a mid-sized real estate business. Their life wasn’t flashy, but they’d always been comfortable. Felicia had grown up surrounded by everything she needed.

But now, the real estate market was tanking. About half a year ago, a bad investment had nearly wrecked the company. Colton was aging before her eyes, selling off what he could to dig them out of debt. When he found out she was pregnant with Max’s child, he hadn’t pressured her to go to the Hawthornes to demand anything.

Watching her dad become more tired and worn out, Felicia finally made up her mind. She went to the Hawthorne family herself. She had her own reasons, not just for her father but for herself, too.

Back in her own space, all the stress and hurt melted away. She sat on the edge of her bed, noticing the photo album on her nightstand. She reached for it and flipped it open. The first picture was an old, torn family photo.

She’d been eight years old. Her dad looked young and handsome, holding her close. Her brother, a teenager then, stood on one side. Her mom was on the other… or she had been, until Felicia ripped her out of the picture. She’d hated her mother for taking her brother and leaving her behind. Now, that deep ache was just barely there, a faded memory.

She turned to the next page. There she was in her teens, wearing a white dress and a light brown woven hat, standing under a golden ginkgo tree. The sun lit up her smile. Her long dark hair framed a small, delicate face, her features bright and full of life. And her eyes… they sparkled like stars.

It was before she got sick. The medication made her gain weight, and no matter how hard she tried, dieting and exercising, she couldn’t lose it. All she could do was try not to gain any more.

Suddenly, she remembered the girl from earlier today. There was something about her face, especially her eyes… that looked so much like the girl in the photo. Like her younger self.