(Karen’s POV – Present Tense)

The house feels smaller now.

Not because the walls have moved, but because every truth I’ve learned presses closer, like the air itself is listening.

Dre is in his study again. I can hear the soft rustle of papers, the steady scratch of a pen.

He’s been signing things all morning, contracts, statements, damage control.

But there’s one document he hasn’t touched.

Our marriage certificate.

It sits in the corner of his desk, the edges curling slightly ...