Derek lowering his eyes.

For months, I had wondered whether that memory would always feel like humiliation.

Standing there with my coffee on the morning of my trip, I realized it did not.

What Brianna had intended as a way to make me smaller had become the moment when I finally understood the amount of space I was entitled to occupy.

My own.

Not more than anyone else.

Not less.

Exactly mine.

I finished my coffee, rinsed the mug, and carried my suitcase outside.

Then I locked the door.

Before pulling out of the driveway, I looked back at the house I had spent so many years paying off and protecting.

For once, I did not see it as the place I returned to after taking care of everybody else.

I saw it as my home.

Then I drove toward the Oregon coast, toward the Pacific, and toward something that belonged entirely to me.

Disclaimer: This story is fictional and created for entertainment purposes only. Any names, characters, places, or events are fictitious or used fictitiously. No real person or organization is intended to be portrayed.

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