Valerie had already made up her mind—she was gonna protect her own safe space, no matter what. Yet by morning, she still had no clue how to actually pull that off.

She tried to start her day like usual. She showered, got dressed, and headed to work. She knocked out her tasks, sat through meetings, and answered every question with that polished professional tone. To anyone watching, she probably just looked a little low-energy, nothing more.

But right around noon, her phone lit up again. ...