The pride in her voice hit me like a punch to the gut. Iblinked rapidly, fighting back the sudden sting of tears. This wasn’t the cool, collected Helen I was used to. This was a mother who was proud of her son.
For a moment, we just looked at each other, a newfound understanding settling between us. I saw past the stern matron to the strong, resilient woman who’d shaped Eli into the person he was. The resentment I’d been harboring toward her began to crumble, replaced by a grudging respect.
Helen cleared her throat, composure settling back over her like a familiar cloak. But there was a softness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. “Thank you, dear. For seeing the good in him, even now.”
I managed a small smile, feeling oddly lighter. “It’s not hard to see once you know where to look.”
As I left Harper’s office, my mind reeled. Our fragile truce had somehow transformed into something new by the end of the conversation. A shared understanding. A bridge, however tenuous, across the chasm that had separated us.
I closed the door to my office, the familiar click of the latch echoing in the sudden silence. The meticulously organized space that had always been my sanctuary now felt suffocating. I slumped into my ergonomic chair, its usual comfort doing nothing to ease the ache in my chest.
Eli’s handsome face flashed in my mind, so I catalogued every difference between us. How Eli was everything I wasn’t—carefree, spontaneous, allergic to responsibility. But even as I listed our differences, the spark they’d ignited couldn’t be extinguished so easily. The way his laid-back attitude had challenged my rigid worldview. The exhilarating feeling of letting go in his presence.
“And now it’s over,” I whispered, the words tasting likeash in my mouth. “Because I won’t bend, and he can’t commit. And neither of us is brave enough to fight for it. Dammit, Eli.” A tear slipped down my cheek. I rubbed it away in irritation. “How am I supposed to move on from this?”
