Angel in the Ashes
an excerpt

I'm not stupid. I'm not. I know Russell has been cheating on me. I mean, I sleep in the same bed as the man. Or at least, I used to. For the past six months now all I've heard are excuses. I know that I'm not as skinny or as well maintained as I used to be, but six months? And he won't touch me. He keeps saying that he's just tired from all the press conferences and campaining. But I can never even find him at his office!
I can't leave him, though. I promised I would stick it out through his campaigning, he'd warned me it wouldn't be easy. I just never expected this. I can't take Lola away from him. We just celebrated her third birthday! She wouldn't understand.
So that's it. My husband of four years is cheating on me. And I'm not going to do anything about it. I wouldn't be able to even if I wanted. I have no money of my own, I haven't had a job since High School, and that was at a local supermarket! My father is dead, and my mother is a home. She doesn't even remember me when I visit her. The closest I can get to talking to her is when she asks if I'm Mary, a friend she had in school when she was a child. After a while, I just played along. What else could I do?
Mollie, Lola's nanny, just came in and said that Lola wants me to go for a walk with her before supper. I think Mollie is just trying to get me to excersize. *sighs* Oh well. At least Lola always knows how to make me smile.
As long as I have her, I don't need anything else.