We did not wait for morning. There was no time to pause or let the news settle. After the confrontation with Howard, I felt like something in me had shifted permanently, like the soft part of me that still wanted to believe in decency had quietly stepped away, leaving behind the steel I knew I would need for what came next. I walked back to the boutique with Julian beside me, the silence between us filled with a shared understanding that no one else could hold. By the time we stepped inside, ...