125. The Conversation I Have Been AvoidingNova

I had rehearsed this conversation a hundred times.

In the shower.

In traffic.

Lying awake at night while the house slept and my thoughts refused to.

Every version ended the same way, with me backing out.

With me telling myself they’re too young, or it can wait, or why drag them into my mess.

But the truth had been sitting between us for years now, unspoken and heavy, and after months of therapy, of learning to name my fear instead of letting it ...