re about t

, the skyline of the city framed perfectly behind him

contract we've landed in a decade. You've been

across his polished mahogany desk. T

dy, betraying none of the turmoil inside

It was the same reason I had given ten years ago when I first left

right, Ava. If you're sure. But the door is always open. Y

of a choice I made long ago. My baby. He was right. The Henderson project was a masterpiece of glass and steel I had birthe

r, he said he did. And just

belly and a portfolio that made senior partners take notice. This firm, Chen & Associates, had been my first real home. They saw my potential, they nurtur

I met

conference I' d been dragged to by a friend. I was bored, sketchin

ood ambition. He was a rising star in the tech world, full of energy and grand ideas about ch

?" he'd asked, his eyes alight with a gen

tial of the digital frontier. He was charming, intelligent, and he made me feel like the center of his universe. He promised me we wou

d for the son we would have, Ethan. My career was flourishing, and I was managing it all, the late nights at the office, the client meetings, the life we were

ompany's branding and office spaces, something that set them apart from the drab, soulless

to shift. The demands on Mark grew, and the demands on me grew with them. Late-night feedings were followed by early-morn

erge of a huge deal, the one that would make him a

ce etched with exhaustion. "I need you. Ethan needs you. I can't

tings, my construction sites for playgrounds. I became the perfect corporate wife, the supportive partner who hosted flawless dinner parties for investors and remembered the names of all their children. I managed our hom

ds, and sketched in secret notebooks late at night after everyone was asleep. It was a lifeline to the woman I used to be.

leader. Ethan was older. The Henderson project came up, a dream commission. David calle

and it was like no time had passed. The ideas flowed, the designs were sharp, innovative.

athering on the horizon, one I never saw com