Chapter 10: The Garden at Crestview
With the court proceedings concluded, Hannah turned her attention to her personal sanctuary.
She decided not to sell the suburban house on Crestview Lane. Instead, she stripped away every trace of the sterile, showy decor Greg had insisted on buying to impress his socialite acquaintances.
She repainted the kitchen in warm, inviting tones of sage green and buttercup yellow. She replaced the cold marble furniture with solid, hand-crafted oak pieces made by local Amish carpenters.
In the backyard, she spent her weekends building a sprawling organic garden: raised cedar beds filled with heirloom tomatoes, sweet basil, bell peppers, and rows of vibrant sunflowers along the wooden fence.
Arthur Sterling visited one Sunday afternoon, bringing a housewarming gift—a handcrafted wooden porch swing.
""You look different, Hannah,"" Arthur remarked, setting down his toolbox on the patio.
""Different how?"" she asked, brushing dark soil off her gardening apron.
""You look like someone who owns her own sky,"" Arthur smiled, wiping his brow. ""Most clients who go through what you endured spend years trapped in bitterness. You turned your courtroom into a foundation.""
May you like
""Bitterness is a poison you drink hoping the other person dies, Arthur,"" Hannah said softly, looking at the blooming sunflowers. ""I don't have time to be poisoned. I have too many things to plant.""
---
