The Road is a standalone prequel to Hunger, with no cliffhanger.

Kelsey is struggling to maintain a happy home while Brian starts his cannabis farm. She's overwhelmed with the responsibilities of parenting, maintaining the home and making up for his lack of income. Can Kelsey escape the misery and monotony of their life with her marriage intact, or will she take Greta and Molly on an RV adventure to start their new life? What will it take for Brian to "man up" and start taking care of his family?

Warning: a few curse words, but no cheating and no sex

Bonus: This is a standalone prequel to Hunger, but without the BDSM and explicit sex scenes

Kelsey:

"I wouldn't even think of it if I didn't believe that I'd done everything I can think of to make things better. But I can't keep living like this. I can get an apartment with the kids and work while they're there and just start over, without getting yelled at every day. I think it will be nice. I can't even imagine what it's going to feel like to wake up and go to bed day after day not having to deal with his temper. I've completely given up on him having even one tantrum-free day. He's impossible. No matter what is going on, he makes it worse. The kids and I could be having a perfectly pleasant time making cookies or having a tea party or working on an art project and he will invent something to yell about. I'm sick of living like this. The house is a dump and he won't fix it. I can never get him alone because he always has his friends over and he calls it work but I know they would get a lot more done if they weren't getting high in the yard."

Brian:

Brian tossed his muddy shoes onto the floor in the laundry room, one by one, and alongside each thump, Kelsey heard wet blobs of mud smacking onto the floor, undoubtedly some of them landed in the basket of clean and folded laundry she hadn't had time to put away while dinner was cooking.

Greta reached for her glass of water and bumped the pitcher, sending water running down the legs of the table, and Brian barked, "What the f#@$ is wrong with you? Dammit." as Greta cried and apologized.