Chapter 12 - The Woman in the Mirror
Healing wasn't cinematic.
There was no morning when I woke up completely unafraid.
For months, raised voices made my shoulders tense.
Unexpected bank calls made my stomach drop.
When Nathan reached suddenly across me once to grab a falling glass, I flinched.
He noticed.
He didn't touch me.
“I'm sorry.”
“You didn't do anything.”
“I know.”
He waited.
That mattered.
Slowly, my nervous system learned what my mind already knew.
The danger was over.
I stopped checking property records every week.
Stopped monitoring credit daily.
Stopped expecting Margaret's name to appear on my phone.
Then one morning, I looked in the mirror while getting ready for work.
Nothing dramatic happened.
I simply realized I hadn't thought about Daniel in three days.
Three whole days.
That became a week.
Then weeks.
May you like
People sometimes imagine freedom as a door slamming.
Sometimes it's realizing you haven't looked back at the door in months.
