She’d been wrong before.
But never like that.
Some betrayals break your heart.
His would break something deeper.
The pen slipped from her fingers and rolled across the floor.
“I’m fine,” she murmured into the empty room.
She’d said those words her whole life.
I’m fine. I got it. Don’t worry about me.
They worked as usual.
But words get heavy when you repeat them enough.
And sometimes, in the quiet, when no one was around to need her… Rebecca wondered what it would feel like—
to not be the strong one.
Just once.
Wind brushed the trees outside, a low hush against the windows.
She stood slowly and walked toward the front of the house, stopping short of the glass. Her reflection stared back — long dark hair over one shoulder, tattoosshadowed in firelight, eyes more tired than she ever admitted.
Her gaze dropped to the lilies resting against the door like an offering.
Her chest twisted.
Because some part of her didn’t feel scared.
It felt… chosen.
And that frightened her more than anything.
Outside, beyond the tree line, a cigarette ember glowed faintly in the dark.
She never looked toward the woods.
And he never stepped into the light.
Close enough to watch.
Far enough not to scare her.
Rebecca exhaled slowly, palm resting against the cool glass.
A strange thought slipped through her mind — quiet, certain, unshakable.
Maybe her life hadn’t fallen apart.
Maybe it had been moved.
Like a piece on a board, she couldn’t see.
