Chapter 7: The Breaking Point

The weekend dragged like a shadow, each hour heavy with the weight of Mom's overheard confession. I avoided her eyes over breakfast, picking at toast while she chattered about her shift schedule, her voice too bright, too normal. The apartment felt smaller, the walls pressing in with unspoken accusations. Richard's infidelity ploy, her resentment toward Marcus—it all looped in my mind, twisting the narrative I'd clung to. Was she the villain now, her warnings ...