Eerstland, literally First Island, was the core of the UR: Northgate, St. Ives, everything she knew.Nieuwland, New Island, was quieter. Residential.Veldil, Field Island, was military and agriculture. Names she knew. Places she hadn’t been.
She wanted it. So much her chest ached with the effort of not saying yes. “I’ll think about it.”
Maris stood. No pressure. Just a faint curve at her mouth as she reached the door. “If you’re out, no apology necessary. I’ve met him. I understand why you’d go. But if you stay…you’ll hear things the full-timers would kill to know.”
Bea’s smile came late. And kind of tilted. “I’ll let you know.”
“Good.”
Maris went.
Bea sat alone in the glass room, staring at the chair Maris had never taken.
It wasn’t gilded. It had sharp angles. No safety net. And yet, it pulled at her like gravity, like maybe this was the seat she’d been trying to earn all along.
Now that it was close enough to touch, she wasn’t sure she still had permission to reach for it.
Bea spent the rest of the afternoon not working.
She read the same sentence over and over. Didn’t respond to emails.
Lately, she kept seeing it in her mind: a scale.
On one side, Damien Ellis inviting her to the Graduate Enrichment Cohort. Maris hinting at a future at M&S.
On the other side—Gage. A beautiful, structured life with him. And she wanted it so much.
Maybe if she just…left now, if she took herself out of the equation early, the rest would fall in line more easily. So she opened up a new email, and started drafting the resignation.
Dear Maris,
Thank you for the offer. I’m grateful beyond words.
But I can’t accept the role.
And I think I need to step back entirely.
Please accept my formal resignation from Monaghan & Stowe.
Her notice period was four weeks. That’s when study week started. Then exams. The timing aligned.
But there was a voice in her head.
Are you certain, little Bea?
She moved the cursor right above Send.
Hesitated. Hovered.
Her phone lit up.
Incoming call: Nico
Bea reared back. He never called.
She hurried to the break room.
“Nico? Are you okay?” She sat down in a corner.
