ersations filled with business jargon and inside jokes that excluded her. Ava would be in the kitchen making his favorite meal, and he would walk past, engrossed in a call with Chloe, not even notic

ing, a slow erosion of her con

ewed Ava with a thinly veiled disdain, seeing her as a social climber who had taken advantage of h

examined her nails with a look of boredom. "It must be a relief for Liam to have someone to talk to who unde

anger and shame. "I do

her voice laced with poison. "Your kind

e room, hoping he would defend her. He just

perated plea of a man who didn't want a scene. The lack of real support was more painful than Sarah

never met. Throughout the dinner, Liam' s attention was entirely on Chloe. They laughed at shared memories, their heads close together. From her seat, Ava watched them, a spectator at her own life's unraveling. She felt invisible, her presence a mere formality. The opul

her-bound books, and the familiar smell brought a sharp pang of longing for the life she had given up. Her fingers traced the spines of the books, her mind racing. She could not live like this anymore, w

modern building a symbol of everything she had denied herself. She opened her laptop and, with trembling fingers, began to search for international architecture programs. The

riting personal essays, and filling out applications. Each form she completed, each essay she wrote, was an act of rebellion. She was quietly, methodically planning her escape. The fear of what she was doing was a constant hum b