Goodbye Means Never Again

For five years, Justine Payne has played the lucky wife—a devoted husband, a bright son, a perfect life. But Noah Oliver has never let go of his first love, Hazel Gilbert, and Gavin, the boy she nearly died to bear, has learned to treat her with contempt. On Christmas Eve, alone with an untouched dinner, Justine signs a divorce agreement.

Noah and Gavin spend the holiday with Hazel, and a video shows Noah promising her he will never miss another Christmas with her. When Gavin comes home, he mocks the hand Justine lost fingers from, and Noah lets him. The next morning, Gavin spills chowder on her and calls her a freak; Justine slaps him, and Noah tells her she is not needed to discipline their son.

Silent on the drive to his parents' grave, Justine has already decided this is the last duty she will perform as a daughter-in-law. In one month, they will be strangers.