‘It’s Just A Meeting, My Son Said When I Didn’t Receive An Invitation To His Big Engagement Party. So I Transferred Back The $25k From The Honeymoon Fund And Updated The Flights I Had Arranged For Them.

I am safe and well. The honeymoon fund was my personal money, not a guaranteed gift. The reservations were made through my connections and were also not guaranteed.

I need some time to think about our relationship going forward. I’ll be in touch when I return from Aspen next week. I pressed send before I could reconsider, then immediately silenced notifications from his number.

It was the first boundary I had ever established with my son. A small action. Monumental.

With deliberate movements, I dressed in the new hiking outfit I’d purchased at the hotel boutique the previous evening. Today, I would explore Aspen not as a mother concerned about a child left behind or a business owner worried about unattended details. But simply as Diana.

A woman discovering what it meant to prioritize her own joy. As I stepped out of my room—phone deliberately left behind—I felt a sensation I hadn’t experienced in decades. The lightness of being accountable only to myself.

If only for a day. The mountains awaited. And for once, so did I.

The peace I had cultivated during my week in Aspen began dissolving the moment my plane touched down at home. My phone, which I had largely kept on do not disturb mode, immediately vibrated with an incoming call from James. I declined it.

Not yet ready for that conversation. Especially not in a crowded airplane cabin. Instead, I texted:

Just landed.

Need to get home and settled. We’ll call tomorrow. His response was immediate.

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