(Matthew’s Point of View)
I never imagined I'd find myself in this situation.
The morning had unfolded with the usual chill, the usual precision. The arrangement with Rebecca had gone off without a hitch. Yet, a strange, constricting sensation in my chest nagged at me. I hadn't let on, not a single time, but the moment I watched her leave, the accumulated pressure of it all became impossible to dismiss.
It wasn't the words exchanged.
It wasn't Rebecca's threats that got to me. It was Esther.
I couldn't get past the way she looked at me, the subtle hurt she masked. She thought I was oblivious, that I hadn't seen her hands shake when Rebecca made one of her nasty comments. She was still trying to understand me, trying to cling to a version of me that wasn't just a transaction. I could s
