Clara
“I don’t think happiness is part of the plan anymore.”
And for the first time that morning
Reig stopped smiling.
Not dramatically.
Not in an obvious way.
But something shifted in his expression.
Something quieter.
He leaned back slightly against his chair, studying me carefully like he was trying to understand how I could say something like that so casually.
“That’s a sad way to live.”
I forced a small shrug.
“It’s realistic.”
“No,” he said calmly. “It’s surrender.”
My fingers paused above the keyboard.
There it was.
That irritating thing he kept doing.
Looking directly at the parts of me I tried hardest to ignore.
I laughed softly without humor.
“You make everything sound so easy.”
“It’s not easy.”
“Really?” I looked up finally. “Because from where I’m sitting, y
