Chapter 15 I had on a black crop top - short , showing a sliver of my waist - paired with loose beige pants . Standing at five - foot - six , I had a slim , tall frame , and my brown hair made me look much more gorgeous . " Mom , what're you wearing ? It's cute ! " Yvonne's eyes went wide . She'd never seen me dressed like this . Jared's deep - set eyes flickered with surprise . I flipped my wavy hair and stepped toward them . " Let's go , Yvonne . I'm gonna be late for dinner . " Jared ruffled Yvonne's hair , his voice soft . " Listen to Mom , okay ? Don't give her a hard time . " Yvonne pouted , grumbling . " I know . You say that every day - it's annoying . " Jared looked at her adoringly . Then he turned to me and gave me a thorough once - over . " Who are you having dinner with ? " " My violin teacher and some classmates ," I replied . His brows pulled tight . " Don't mess with strangers . Watch out for creeps . " I laughed . " Meeting new people is fun for me . " Before he could say more , I shut the car door and pulled away . In the rearview mirror , I saw him still standing there , watching me leave . Yvonne pulled out her game console, firing it up . " Mom , why didn't you come bake with me yesterday ? " I raised an eyebrow . " Thought you had Tracy there . " " That's not the same , " she pouted . " Everyone else has both their mom and dad , there , but I only have Dad . If Tracy hadn't bailed on her own plans to come , I would've looked so pathetic . " She was basically calling me a bad mom . But I almost smirked - Tracy was probably thrilled for the chance . Honestly , she should thank me . " Your dad's pretty nice to Tracy , huh ? " I said casually . " Of course , she's- " Yvonne started , but quickly stopped . She was as sharp as her dad , after all . She just let out an annoyed huff . " Mom , are you trying to get info about Dad from me ? How lame . " I fell silent . Time and again , I realized my little girl wasn't on my side , even at such a young age . I couldn't convince myself to love her anymore . When I arrived at the restaurant , my teacher and musician classmates were already there . A few single guys who'd hit on me before looked utterly stunned now that they saw me walk in with my daughter . Jared had cheated , but I wasn't about to start hooking up with random guys as payback . Love meant nothing to me right now . I just wanted to build my career and become independent . Once I got there , guys would be lining up . Dinner was great , though . We laughed , talked , and swapped stories . I picked up some useful tips , and they even said they'd hit me up for future gigs . Since performing a few times in college , I'd never been on stage again . But I loved that feeling of standing in the spotlight- being adored , being liked - it was pure soul food . And I wanted it back . 1/2 Retired executives often spiraled into depression when the praise stopped - their sense of purpose just vanished . For me , it was the same . Without that validation , I felt myself slowly disappearing . Yvonne was quite the social butterfly . She chatted easily with my violin classmates and even got this wild idea about learning violin together . I quickly shut her down .