Ocean of Stars

Ocean of Stars Copyright ©2023 Gina Magee Cover Design by Murphy Rae Formatting by Allusion Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes only. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. TRIGGER WARNING This story contains content that might be troubling to some readers—including but not limited to depictions of and references to substance abuse, child abuse, child loss, theological conflict, adultery, violence, and death. Remember to practice self-care before, during and after reading. Table of Contents Dedication Playlist Epigraph 1 - #choices 2 - #elixir 3 - #theoldme 4 - #changeofscenery 5 - #lifeistricky 6 - #chemistry 7 - #backgroundcheck 8 - #boundaries 9 - #eyeofthebeholder 10 - #pictureperfect 11 - #backtoreality 12 - #eavesdropping 13 - #proceedwithcaution 14 - #aquatic 15 - #sohelpmegod 16 - #lilith 17 - #river 18 - #heavenonearth 19 - #pokerface 20 - #joanofarc 21 - #codeblue 22 - #bombidibom 23 - #drugofchoice 24 - #exception 25 - #intuition 26 - #butterflies 27 - #reality 28 - #pounce 29 - #embrace 30 - #tides 31 - #justbreathe 32 - #returntosender 33 - #hearttrouble 34 - #welcome 35 - #guarded 36 - #monamour 37 - #time 38 - #goingunder 39 - #firsttime 40 - #wavesofblue 41 - #ink 42 - #truth 43 - #home 44 - #safety 45 - #toolate 46 - #nightmare 47 - itsallintheeyes 48 - #newsflash 49 - #never 50 - #lettinggo 51 - #lpleasureandpain 52 - #goodbye 53 - #timepassages 54 - #success 55 - #ridingthewave 56 - #dusttodust 57 - #youthere 58 - #generations Want More? Acknowledgements About the Author This book is for those who dare to love beyond the limits. Playlist 1) “Flames” — WILDES 2) “Catch” — Brett Young 3) “Like Real People Do” — Hozier 4) “Nightingale” — Norah Jones 5) “Hurt Nobody” — Andrew Belle 6) “One of These Nights” — Eagles 7) “River” — Bishop Briggs 8) “From Eden” — Hozier 9) “Heart of Mine” — The Peter Malick Group & Norah Jones 10) “Code Blue” (From “Fifty Shades Darker” Soundtrack) — The-Dream 11) “Dress” — Taylor Swift 12) “Bom Bidi Bom” (From “Fifty Shades Darker” Soundtrack) — Nick Jonas & Nicki Minaj 13) “Movement” — Hozier 14) “Sara” — Fleetwood Mac 15) “Dusk Till Dawn” — ZAYN (feat. Sia) 16) “Lady Marmalade” (From “Moulin Rouge” Soundtrack) — Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya & Pink 17) “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” — Cigarettes After Sex 18) “Two Tickets to Paradise” — Eddie Money 19) “Waves of Blue” — Majid Jordan 20) “What Am I To You?” — Norah Jones 21) “Ocean of Stars” — Paul Sills 22) “Deep Water” — Haley Reinhart 23) “Something Heavens” — H.U.V.A. Network 24) “Landslide” — Fleetwood Mac 25) “Hanging On” — Active Child 26) “Tree Song” — Dylan Wheeler 27) “Ghost” — WILDES 28) “Beyond This Moment” — Patrick O’Hearn 29) “You There” — Aquilo 30) “Heavenly” — Karley Scott Collins THE PLAYLIST ON PANDORA I have found the one whom my soul loves. Song of Solomon 3:4 1 #choices Stevie “WE CAN DO this the hard way or the easy way, Graham. Your choice. If you choose to take this to court though, I’m gonna fuck you over in every way that I can. You know—since you fucked me over by fucking someone else. And you can bet on me embarrassing the hell out of you too,” I said. “I’m not taking this to court. I just wanna be free of you, Stevie, so draw up the divorce papers and I’ll sign them. Take everything. I do not care.” I glared at Graham and he glared at me. He was furious and so was I, and we were both done with our ten-year marriage. He and I were hurting so much but for completely different reasons. And Graham’s reasons? They were something that I’d never be able to accept because if I did, then I’d be giving him a pass for what he did. After I confronted him with the evidence of his affair only minutes ago, he’d looked me straight in the eye, owned up to it, and then accused me of neglecting him, emotionally and physically. He also accused me of being married to my job at the district attorney’s office and not to him. Those were his excuses for deciding to turn to another woman. Graham and I had been together since we were juniors in high school. Two years after graduation, we had a gigantic wedding and everything moved in fast forward after that day. It seemed as if I’d always been married to him and for much longer than ten years. Of course the passion in our relationship waxed and waned like the moon but that was to be expected. That was a normal occurrence in marriage as years passed by, careers took off, demands increased, etc. I didn’t neglect Graham. I gave him the best of myself all these years. I looked at my watch and then met his glare again. “You have twenty minutes to go pack your shit and leave,” I said, feeling nauseous. “I won’t need that much time.” I followed Graham into our bedroom and watched him pull two of our suitcases out of the closet and begin packing them with his clothes and toiletries. While he was walking back and forth, grabbing his belongings, he kept cutting his green eyes over at me and shaking his head. I wasn’t letting up, though. He deserved how I was treating him. He’d be the same way if I’d not only had an affair but had also chosen his best friend to have it with, like he had with mine. Graham was right about not needing the twenty minutes that I allowed him. He was