I hate it.
The table goes quiet again.
Nadia speaks first. Calm. Deliberate. "You do get a say."
She pauses.
"But having a say doesn't mean controlling how it ends."
Liv nods. "You each get a say in this. That's what makes it partnership."
Priya uncrosses her arms. "Your say is showing up. Being honest." She looks at me. "Letting him know how you feel—even if you don't know how you feel yet."
Liv's voice is steady. "You need to work together on this."
She pauses.
"And you're already doing it. You just don't realize it yet."
I look at my hands, my thumbs pressing hard into the knuckles.
"I'm terrified," I whisper.
Quiet settles over the table. The kind of absolute, judgment-free quiet that only exists between women who have known each other for years.
Priya smiles softly. "We know. But you're ready."
Nadia picks up her cup. "Good."
Liv squeezes my hand once. "Now you just have to decide what you're going to do about it."
I don't have an answer.
Not yet.
My phone buzzes in my bag.
The vibration is loud in the quiet.
I pull it out.
Tom
Thinking about Friday. And the portfolio layout. And you. Coffee Wednesday?
I stare at the screen.
My eyes catch on the word "you."
Priya leans over and reads it upside down. "And there it is."
I don't look up. My thumbs hover over the keyboard.
Yes.
I hit send.
When I look up, all three of them are watching me.
