"You presented the evidence against me today. You recommended the investigation. You did what the board asked,even though you knew it would hurt me." Isla's voice was eerily calm. She felt like she was watching the conversation from outside her body. "That's already a choice, isn't it? You chose the institution over us."
"I was trying to add context. I was trying to protect you while still doing my job."
"But you did your job first." Isla finally turned to look at her. In the dim light, Marianne's face was a study in anguish. "When push came to shove, you did your job. And I understand why. I really do. But it still hurts."
Marianne sat up abruptly, reaching for Isla's hand. "I'm not going to abandon you. I know it looked bad today, but I'm going to fight this. I'm going to find a way to make the board see that you're not a liability, you're an asset."
"And if you can't?"
"Then I'll deal with the consequences. Whatever they are."
Isla wanted to believe her. Wanted to trust that the woman she loved would stand beside her through whatever came next. But she had been abandoned before, by people who promised to stay. Had learned early that love wasn't enough to overcome fear, that when the pressure got too intense, people chose self-preservation over connection.
She had expected Marianne to be different. Had let herself hope that this time, this relationship, would survive the impossible situation.
Now she wasn't sure anymore.
"I should go." Isla started to get up.
"Stay." Marianne's grip on her hand tightened. "Please. Don't leave like this."
"Like what?"
"Angry. Hurt. Convinced that I'm going to leave you."
"Aren't you?"
Marianne's expression shifted through a dozen emotions, none of them reassuring. Fear. Guilt. Desperation. Doubt.
"I don't know." The admission was barely audible. "I want to say no. I want to promise you that nothing will change how I feel about you. But I don't know what's going to happen, and I don't want to make promises I might not be able to keep."
The honesty should have been comforting. Instead, it felt like a goodbye.
Isla pulled her hand free and started gathering her clothes. Her movements were mechanical, automatic. She had done this before, after other relationships ended. Picked up the pieces and moved on. Built new walls around the wounded places.
"Isla." Marianne's voice was pleading. "Don't go. We can figure this out together."
"Can we?" Isla looked at her, the woman she loved, sitting naked and vulnerable on the bed they had shared. "Or are we just postponing the inevitable?"
Marianne didn't have an answer.
Isla dressed quickly, not looking at her. If she looked, she might stay. And staying would only make it worse when the end finally came.
"I love you," Marianne said as Isla reached the bedroom door. "Whatever happens. Whatever I have to do to survive this. I love you."
Isla paused, her hand on the doorframe. "I love you too. That was never the question."
"Then what is?"
She turned finally, looked back at the woman who had become everything to her. "Whether love is enough. Whether we're strong enough. Whether you'll still be there when the smoke clears."
She didn't wait for an answer. She wasn't sure she wanted one.
Isla walked out of Marianne's apartment and into the cold night air, feeling something inside her quietly breaking. She had known from the beginning that this would end badly. Had told herself that the risk was worth it, that loving Marianne was worth whatever pain came after.
Now the pain was here. And she wasn't sure she had been right.
The drive home was a blur of streetlights and radio static. Isla moved through her apartment on autopilot, showering off the traces of their lovemaking, climbing into her own cold bed alone.
