The ache didn’t soften into anything like closure. It was more like a new map opening: routes she hadn’t considered, seams she could stitch back together or leave raw. The night air was cold and sharp, and she shivered, not from the temperature but from the sharpened edges of clarity.

She had chosen to trust Brandon that night. She had given him a lot by saying green. But she had not given him the power to make decisions for her life. She had not sold herself. Not yet.

Her phone buzzed ...