Becoming her own.

Chapter Two — The Walk That Nearly Destroyed Her

Mara didn’t go home.

She walked.

She didn’t know where she was going — just away. Away from the café. Away from Ethan. Away from the life she thought she had.

Her boots splashed through puddles. Her hair plastered itself to her cheeks. Her mascara ran, and she didn’t bother wiping it away. Let people stare. Let the city see her unravel.

Two years.

Two years of loving someone who could walk away because her body had changed.

Two years of believing she was safe.

She passed the bookstore they used to go to on Sundays. The Thai place where he’d first said “I love you.” The park bench where they’d planned trips they never took.

Each memory cut fresh and deep.

She reached their apartment building and froze.

She couldn’t go inside.

Not yet.

Not when everything inside belonged to a version of her that no longer existed.

So she turned around.

And kept walking.

She didn’t stop until her feet hurt and her chest ached and the city lights blurred into streaks of color through her tears.

Eventually, without meaning to, she found herself standing in front of a bar.

O’Malley’s.

It was dim, loud, crowded — the kind of place that smelled like beer and fried food and regret. The kind of place she’d never willingly chosen.

But she wasn’t in the mood for good choices.

She pushed the door open.