Jerilyn’s Reviews > Girl on a String > Status Update

It’s only when the beginnings of a small smile curve the corners of her mouth that I realize what it is. Pride. Approval. And maybe even a bit of envy. “Then I’m happy for you, Emma. You’re brave in ways I could never be, and I’m glad to see it.”

“How did the two of you meet?” “He was at Clear Waters at the same time I was.” I nearly laugh aloud at the expressions that steal across the faces of my parents. To say they’re taken aback by the fact that I met Joshua in rehab would be a tragic understatement.

He saw someone better than who I was. He saw Emma 2.0, the upgraded model. He saw what I could be, he saw who I could be. And he called her Bel.

Joshua and I are the exact opposite. We fit with each other before we fit into anything else. We got it right, I think. I hope.

My heart thrills at his words. He has this way of saying things as though I’ve spoken the need to hear them aloud, like he’s reading my mind. Or my heart. It’s how I know he’s perfect for me, and that the way we fit isn’t just a figment of my imagination. I worry sometimes about that, too. Still. I’m human. “I’m so lucky to have you.” “And have me, you can,”

I’m done with the bubble, done with the lies and the cheating and the pretense. I’m done with the strings. Emma Sterling is starting over and the only person who will decide when, where and how that happens is me. I’ve got no strings on me.

I can see clearly, maybe for the first time. And with that clarity comes a rage unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.

Cheating is one thing, cheating with a best friend is worse. But making a woman think she’s losing her mind and then stealing all her money right out from under her… well, those are things that no one, no matter their stature or finances or place in the world, should sit by and simply accept.

“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. This will be good for me.” Dr. Baros simply nods, and I do the same. Yes, this will be good for me. But in the end, it won’t be so good for them.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Just wait until they see what happens when Emma Kramer Sterling cuts the strings.