We went to eat delicious traditional food at a local restaurant we had been going to since I was a little child. There was no fancy wedding toast or expensive music playing, but there were warm tortillas, cold glasses of hibiscus water, and people who loved me unconditionally.
That afternoon, I returned to my new apartment. It was small, but every single object was placed exactly where I had decided to put it. I opened the large window and listened happily to the busy noise of the city.
I officially started my new job at the design agency on Monday morning. My creative director, Rebecca Montiel, assigned me an important new campaign right away. For weeks, I worked incredibly hard to regain the professional confidence I had lost trying to please Brandon.
Three months later, the agency offered me a permanent contract and a significant raise.
With some of the money I had saved from the wedding gift, I bought a fast new computer for my work and helped my parents repair the leaking roof of their house. I kept the rest of the funds safely in the bank as an emergency fund for my future.