Unjaded by Samantha Russell

Author:Samantha Russell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Samantha Russell
Published: 2023-12-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Maeve

Most people seemed to think that once a woman left an abusive husband, the departure marked the end of her struggle. Maeve couldn’t agree less.

She drifted through her day, unmoored by Jade’s phone call. While they’d been talking, she had felt elated. At last, Jade was willing to share her personal life. Even when Jade had been living here, under Maeve’s roof, they’d never spoken about boys so candidly.

Or maybe Jade just hadn’t had a crush like this before. Either way, Maeve was grateful that Jade included her in the excitement. And she was grateful to be able to offer advice, however meager.

But as soon as she hung up the phone, doubts crept in. Was Maeve really the best person to be handing out relationship advice? Especially to her own daughter, the product of what some might call one of the most disastrous relationships ever to ship.

Maeve poured herself a cup of tea and headed out into the backyard to the seats near the roses where she and Jade would normally recline together had Jade been in the same state. Alone, the spot seemed lonelier than usual, quiet and secluded under the canopy of trees overhead, only the distant chatter of squirrels for company.

Her thoughts drifted, as they so often did when left to their own devices, toward Holden.

Once she gave birth to Jade, Maeve felt she had to stay. It wasn’t just about them anymore—they had a daughter to raise. Besides, by that point, a few years into their marriage, Maeve thought she understood Holden’s triggers. He lashed out shortly before deployments, and was short-tempered upon return from them. But for most months in between—long stretches of time, even—he was the Holden she knew. His usual sweet, thoughtful self.

She just needed to be patient during the tough times; that was all. She needed to—as he so often put it—understand the depth of the sacrifices he was making for their country.

Maeve started walking on eggshells. She took whole seconds to reply to anything he said, second-guessing every word, turning them over for any possible unfavorable interpretations before she spoke. He was a good man, she truly believed that. He just needed help dealing with his anger issues.

But then he lost it around Jade.

Maeve wasn’t even sure that Jade remembered the incident. It was so brief—hopefully—from her perspective. Holden had gotten into a heated argument with Maeve, as usual, over something trivial. In this case, an unpaid electricity bill that had fallen into the wrong stack of mail, and therefore accrued a fifteen-dollar late fee.

It happened so fast. One minute, they were talking, albeit somewhat heatedly. The next, Holden grabbed a plate and hurled it at the wall. It shattered, pieces flying, just as Jade stepped into the kitchen. Her bare feet paused inches away from the shattered ceramic.

“What’s going on?” Jade asked, wide-eyed.

“Nothing, sweetheart. Nothing at all.” Maeve had shot Holden a look as she bustled Jade out of the kitchen. Holden seemed cowed, at least for the time being—he set down the second plate he’d been about to toss.

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