By the time the kettle clicked off, I already knew I wouldn’t be answering any calls today. The voices from the night before were still in my head — not the words themselves, but the tones, the implications, the way the air had felt heavy when Julian told me about the investor. There was a time I would have reacted immediately, throwing all my energy into figuring out how to confront it. This morning, I realized I didn’t want to give them that much of me.

The kitchen felt still. I sat ...