Part 1: The Day He Walked Out and the Quiet Decision That Followed

clearly struggling to process the shift in power. “But why? Isn’t this a little extreme?”

I thought of the way he had mocked my body. The way he had walked out without hesitation. The way he had assumed I would wait in quiet misery while he moved on.

Instead of listing all of that, I simply said, “Finish reading.”

His eyes dropped back to the page, and continue reading …