At the support group, she heard stories from others who’d lost everything because of alcohol.
The recovery process was brutal. Withdrawal symptoms made her miserable—she trembled so badly she couldn’t even hold a cup.
Insomnia and nightmares wore her down.
With encouragement from her support group, she finally quit drinking. Life was still tough, but there was hope. Then, at an invitation from an old friend, she found herself surrounded by people drinking—every cell in her body screaming at her to pick up a glass.
In that moment, she rushed over, grabbed a glass, and downed it.
In that moment, Lindsay’s heart died.
But the ending wasn’t tragic. This story focused on the real struggles of quitting alcohol—showing how terrifying addiction could be. Over the course of three years, with the unwavering support of her group, she finally overcame her alcohol addiction.
It was a simple, quiet story—painful but true. Essentially, it adapted the entire rehab process and the real experiences of her support group members into a popular novel.
In New York, so many lives had been destroyed by alcohol—this novel would resonate deeply.
She finished the outline in one go. This book would write faster than the first two—the material was all there, drawn from her own experience and from Norma and others.
Jolene told Garden she could do the signing any day now that Emma was in school.
Dell Publishing had placed ads in newspapers ahead of time and coordinated with Noble Bookstore for the venue.
Thursday morning, Jolene dropped Emma off at school and arrived at Noble Bookstore at 9 AM.
Five months after transmigrating, Jolene was no longer as gaunt. Her face had filled out, her eyes weren’t puffy anymore, and her energy was much better.
Feeling healthier and happier, she looked at herself in the mirror—she finally looked like a normal 25-year-old.
Even though the original owner had had a child, years of malnutrition had left her weak and thin. In San Francisco, daily walks in the sun, jump rope, and frisbee had improved her health. She wasn’t a knockout beauty, but she was pleasant to look at.
Jolene didn’t wear makeup. She just shaped her brows, washed her hair, tied it in a ponytail, and headed to Noble Bookstore.
The store was huge—two floors—a comprehensive bookstore. Thanks to the publisher’s advance promotion, a good number of readers showed up.
Jolene noticed most readers were holding copies of the first book, The Ex-Wife’s Revenge, not the second one, Fight to the End. Only a handful had bought the second.
She glanced at Garden with a look that said it all: wasn’t this just making someone else’s fortune?
Sure, both books were hers, so the money would eventually go to Jolene—but Dell Publishing had invested so much, and all the profits were going to Random House instead.
Garden gave her a helpless shrug. “I think the second book is great too. Trust my gut.”
Fair enough. Jolene stood by as the host introduced her. After the intro, she’d need to give a speech and share her thoughts behind the book—and more importantly, promote her single-mom persona.
She’d already mentally prepared what to say—she was a seasoned author, after all—but this was her first time in New York, with an unfamiliar crowd, and she couldn’t help feeling a little nervous.
“Why aren’t you wearing makeup?” Garden asked, puzzled.
Authors usually dressed up for signings—it left a good impression.
Jolene felt a little awkward. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to—she just hadn’t bothered to buy cosmetics. In her past life, she mostly stayed home and only put on makeup when going out with friends.
“Makeup is expensive,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Can’t afford it.”
Garden: “…That actually makes sense.”
“Don’t you think this look fits the ‘single mom’ image better anyway?” Jolene joked, giving herself a plausible excuse.
“True. Maybe this will actually make readers like you more,” Garden said thoughtfully.
At exactly 10 AM, the signing began. A marketing staffer from Dell Publishing acted as emcee, briefly introducing the author: “Hello everyone! Our signing officially starts at 10 and runs for two hours. Today’s author wrote The Ex-Wife’s Revenge—the book that helped one woman successfully take revenge on her ex-husband and get her compensation back. Yes, this book is currently ranked #18 on the New York Times bestseller list—this year’s dark horse. Please welcome our popular fiction author—J. Lynne!”
Hearing her name, Jolene smiled at Garden, then strode up to the table and waved at the readers. “Hello everyone, I’m J. Lynne. It’s wonderful to meet you all, and I’m honored that you enjoy my novels. Many of you know my first book is about a wife taking revenge on her ex-husband. I’d like to say—maybe it’s not just a story. It could be something happening right now, somewhere in the world—perhaps to some single mothers out there… I myself have a five-year-old daughter. Just like them, I’m a single mother.”
The readers were sizing up this young-looking girl, whispering among themselves. She looked so young, no makeup, fair skin, hair in a simple ponytail. And she was saying she was a single mom?
“What? She has a five-year-old daughter?”
“Goodness, is that true? She’s so young!”
“Maybe another teen mom—I’ve seen plenty of kids having kids, dropouts…”
“She’s really a genius though. The revenge tactics in that book were brilliant—like she studied psychology. Honestly, by the end, I almost felt sorry for her ex-husband.”
“Haha! And the mistress saw his true colors too. Regret hit hard. That book was so satisfying…”
Jolene noticed the surprise at her single-mom revelation. She didn’t explain—she just kept going. “My ex-husband was an alcoholic and abusive. To get away from him, I left with nothing and divorced him. I took my daughter and we moved around—lived in a San Francisco slum, worked odd jobs, stayed at a church when we had no money, got food from charity, and even sorted donations at the church. Eventually, to take care of my daughter, I found work as a live-in nanny… But I never gave up on my daughter. I’m deeply grateful to the kind people who give single moms at rock bottom a chance to get back on their feet. Just like in my second book, Fight to the End, the heroine Amy has three kids. Her husband dies suddenly, and she keeps hitting dead ends trying to find work. By chance, she discovers that her husband’s compensation was tampered with by a big oil company. To get back what’s hers, she fights with everything she has—facing threats from the corporation, being misunderstood by her late husband’s coworkers, and judged by strangers. But she never gives up. In the end, she even changes the landscape of equal pay for women…”
The audience gasped. Most had come because of the buzz from the first book—the CNN story had made it known among single women, many showing up just to get the author’s signature.
They hadn’t expected her to be a single mom herself—someone who’d been through struggle. And she’d written a second book, even more ambitious, about a mother of three taking on a giant oil company. That sounded intense.
Some readers were already eyeing the purple-covered book on the display stand.
Dell Publishing had given the second book a purple cover with no silhouettes—just bold white lettering reading Fight to the End. It looked serious, like literary fiction. But now they realized it might be just as gripping as the first.
Same author—it’d probably be just as satisfying.
So readers started asking people nearby to save their spot, dashing over to grab a copy of Fight to the End. If you were going to get one signed, you might as well get two.
Once others saw that, they did the same—and quickly, the display shelf was half-empty.
Jolene exchanged a glance with Garden, who was on the second-floor landing. They both saw the excitement in each other’s eyes.
Their plan to promote her single-mom persona had worked brilliantly. Only a single mom truly understood a single mom—this was practically autobiographical.
And Jolene had spoken calmly, but every line hit hard. She mentioned her ex was an alcoholic and abusive—without going into detail, but it was enough. The audience gasped. Stories like that were all too common—and no one doubted a word she said.
No one knew who her ex was, because she’d never been married. And Emma’s father would never come forward to deny it. So she could say whatever she wanted.
With one introduction, she’d promoted her background, her new book, and sold half the stock. The effect was undeniable.
Other shoppers who’d initially ignored the signing paused to listen. Hearing the author’s story—whether out of sympathy or curiosity—they grabbed a copy and lined up too.
Next came the signing. Jolene sat behind the table, chatting briefly with each reader and signing their books.
There were no young readers—most were women between 20 and 50, as expected.
But then Jolene looked up and saw a man holding a child’s hand, carrying two books, waiting in line.
Curious, she looked closer—and was stunned to see Raymond and Ben, both smiling at her.
Jolene: “…”
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