Chapter 217

• The house felt still that morning. I lingered by the window, staring out at the faint frost that had settled on the edges of the glass, and I thought about how silence sometimes speaks louder than words. Julian was already gone for a meeting, leaving behind only the warmth of coffee he had made for me.
• I wrapped my hands around the mug and let the steam brush my face. It was not just a morning like any other; there was a sense of something forming in me, something that I had been carrying quietly. The kind of weight that was not heavy but steady, asking for a choice.
• I had spent so long responding to what others threw into my life, from Alessia’s wars to the shifting winds of investors. Now, for the first time in years, I felt like the page was blank. I had the pen, and the paper waited.