**Chapter 23: Settling In**
Three months into New York life, Mara had learned the particular rhythm of the city — which subway cars to avoid during rush hour, which bodega made the better coffee, how to walk with the specific brisk purpose that marked you as a resident rather than a tourist. Small things, but they added up to something that felt increasingly like belonging.
Work had settled into a groove too. Her creative director, a sharp-tongued woman named Priya who reminded Mara faintly of Aunt Carol's bluntness, had started giving her more ownership over client accounts — a vote of confidence that came with genuine excitement and a healthy dose of imposter syndrome in equal measure.
"You're doing the thing again," Jonah said one evening, watching her frown at her laptop over dinner
