Bear Unbound: A BBW Bear-Shifter Romance (Shift Your Fate Book 1) Read Free

the choices you’ve made so far and what you need to be happy and offer your daughter the family she deserves.”
    It was all too surreal. Amber’s hands trembled as she lifted the cup to her lips. She took her time to assess what was happening and decide whether the old woman was a nutjob or was, indeed, telling the truth. Rebecca had told her Kassandra had helped her meet Emil. She could trust her friend, right?
    “Let’s try again,” said Kassandra in a low, gentle voice. Amber was so fragile and vulnerable that a simple misplaced word could have made her break down in tears. “Why do you think you couldn’t put an end to your marriage sooner?”
    “I… Well… I didn’t know he was cheating on me. I’ve only found out recently.”
    “Are you sure, Amber?”
    She looked at the dark liquid in her cup and thought for a while. Who was she kidding? She had been suspecting him for years, but she had been too much of a coward to confront him or look for evidence. She had been too afraid to find out the truth.
    “Ava needs her father. Even now, I’m not sure I made the right decision. I left because I was so angry at him, but if I think of it… What am I going to do? I have no money, no job, and Ava will start school in a couple of weeks.” A tear ran down her cheek and she hurried to wipe it off. “I’m so stupid.” She ran a hand through her freshly dyed hair. Yes, the color was amazing, but it couldn’t last. The moment she’d go back to Stephan, he’d tell her to change it back to black. “There’s no way I can make it without him, there’s no way I can give Ava a better life. A decent life, for that matter. My little girl is used to having everything. A big, comfortable house, designer clothes, rich friends… Now, she thinks we’re on vacation and that’s why she’s okay with living at Rebecca’s and sharing a bedroom with me. I can’t tell her that the life she has always known is gone, that we can’t go back to it. I can’t. It wouldn’t be fair.”
    Kassandra brought a box of tissues, then waited for Amber to calm down.
    “You’re second guessing yourself.”
    Amber huffed.
    “Why?”
    “What do you mean why? Because no matter what I want, this is the truth. The reality is plain and clear: ten years ago, I married Stephan and made the decision to go in head first. I gave up my job and dedicated all my time to learning how to be a proper Castell wife. I didn’t think of the consequences, never even considered that our marriage wouldn’t work. We were so in love… I was so in love.”
    “So, what you’re saying is that you believe this is all your fault.” It was a statement, not a question. Kassandra knew exactly how Amber felt. Hurt, disappointed, insecure. “Amber, your husband made you change for him. He made you believe that you weren’t good enough, that your life and your job weren’t good enough, and he convinced you his way was better. You think you can’t make it on your own, but you’re wrong. The first thing you need to do is detach yourself from him, stop wondering what he might think of your decisions, stop thinking of how he’d judge you if he were here. He’s not here. Let’s forget about him for a second. Now, answer me this: what do you think you need to start a new life?”
    Amber breathed in and out slowly. She focused on Kassandra’s question. The old woman was right. This was about her, not Stephan. This was about her happiness and her daughter’s well-being. Yes, Stephan was a great provider, but he was an awful father.
    “I need a job,” she finally said. “I need a good job.”
    “And what don’t you need?”
    “I don’t need…” She thought of saying she didn’t need Stephan, but then she remembered she was supposed to take him out of the equation completely. “I don’t need a man. Yes, that’s what I don’t need. No men. At least for a while, until I get back on my feet.”
    Kassandra smiled indulgently. “That’s true,