rk'

self not t

the folder in my hand. The house was quiet again, too quiet, the way it always was bu

x Sm

y's

ed it. But the board meeting had ended faster than expected, and

't expe

m smelled faintly of leather and cedar, familiar and grounding. Floor-to-ceiling windows ov

without hesitation, sarcasm threaded through confidence. Most pe

d have been enoug

k, setting the folder down without opening it. Wor

it was

ly. Of cours

anned to say

o recognize when I spoke from somewhere deeper than reason. She was the only person I allowe

il t

he documents in front of me. Alex was staying. Temporarily

hing

mind refused to tre

-

sooner than

dishes. Familiar sounds. Comforting ones. I changed out o

W

changed f

h myself, I

stood at the head of the table, adjusting a napkin. Alex was carry

d like he

ught irr

o help," Mary said

lied easily. "I like kn

h confidence, no hesitation, no awkwardness. Not like someone

" he said. "I might've twe

im a warning

ork. "I trust

small, pleased smile.

etter than usual, somehow.

good," I s

"Told you. I don

sed. "He's always been like

at him. "Wh

red that. "

was honest

in my chest

-

pplying for jobs, about not wanting shortcuts. He spoke with conviction, but without a

t firmly on a business decision he'

ed my atte

ncial reports f

'm unemployed.

laiming she needed to check on something in the k

t followed wasn'

siness?"

understanding how things work. Systems. People. And be

. "Independence

don't want to owe my lif

ation hung

ou

im for it. I h

-

the room like he'd always been there. I shouldn't have noticed the way his smile soften

od abr

g late," I said.

g curious flickering in his

Ye

ounds ex

neces

id. "Doesn't me

've shut

myself saying, "

fted slightly, c

wa

-

stairs, looking down toward the ground floo

was

nto me uncomfortably. I

dn't, I to

roof. There were boundaries, professional

to my room, closing th

ing up at the ceiling, one

't just passing

stepped

three years, I wasn't sur