Page 219 of This Life of Mine

I let that sink in.

“With Alex,” she continues, “you aren’t managed. You aren’t controlled. You aren’t silenced. You’re choosing him, not enduring him.”

Something warm spreads through my chest.

“So asking that question,” she adds, “doesn’t mean you’re repeating a pattern. It means you’ve learned to examine one.”

I exhale, slow and steady.

The question doesn’t scare me.

It steadies me.

Because this time, I’m not ignoring my instincts.

I’m listening to them.

And they’re finally telling me the truth.

The End