Lindsay squeezes my hand, pulling me back to the present.
"You're thinking too hard," she says, a small smile finally breaking through. "I can hear the gears turning."
I force myself to relax. "Your family is a variable I didn't consider. Just evaluating next steps. "
"Which are?"
"Containment," I say automatically. "Strategic non-engagement, for the business side."
Lindsay laughs once, sharp but not unkind. "Of course. Very corporate."
"And maybe we need to talk with them more, on the personal side of things."
"I'd like that."
***
That night, Lindsay laughs at something Henry says. Reaches for my hand like it's the most natural thing in the world. I lace my fingers through hers without hesitation.
Nothing has changed.
And yet—somewhere behind the warmth, behind the certainty—
A single thought settles in, heavy and unresolved.
I’ve built my life around being the one who decides what’s best for my son.
Love doesn't just make you stronger. It gives other people leverage.
And I don't know yet what that will do to me and Henry.
