Valerie kept grinding at work like nothing was off. Reports wrapped up on time, meetings ran smooth, and every decision that landed on her desk got handled without a hitch. Nobody could really complain about her performance.

But lately, she’d gone quiet. Too quiet. Her head was a mess—thoughts crashing into each other so hard she couldn’t even tell which one to chase first. And underneath it all, she was desperate for something to fill the silence in her days.

She’d tried hitting ...