The apartment fell quiet with just the sound of rain tapping softly against the windows.
Julian didn’t interrupt; he didn’t rush to comfort me. He simply stayed, and somehow, that helped more.
“I worked for everything,” I whispered eventually. “Every scholarship. Every internship. Every promotion.” My throat tightened again. “But the second a woman succeeds, people immediately look for the man responsible.”
Julian’s jaw clenched.
“People are stupid.”
“No.” I shook my head weakly. “People are predictable.”
And maybe that hurt more because part of me had always known this moment could happen.
Women like me were allowed success only if we remained twice as perfect, twice as careful, and twice as grateful.
One c***k, and suddenly the world remembered where you came from.
Fabian sudden
