He kept looking for seven months, while everyone around us made sure he never found me. I folded that last letter and sat with it for a long time, the paper warm between my fingers. The realization pressed in slowly, settling deep in my chest like it had no intention of leaving anytime soon.
I still went to work, not because I had processed any of it. I hadn’t. Some things don’t untangle quickly, and I was tired of pretending otherwise. I went because work was the one piece of my life that still felt like mine. Untouched, unclaimed. I had built it alone, and stepping into it each day reminded me I could still stand without everything else crumbling.
The vendor meeting started at ten. Final catering numbers before the gala locked in. I ran it from the head of the table, voice steady, ques
