fallen into a restless sleep on the sofa. He moved around the stripped-down space with an efficiency that felt cold,

last," he told one of the workers

was a stationary object in his path. She tried to help, to feel useful, but he had

n counter, the only surface not covered in dust sheets. A notification popped up on the scre

olation of privacy, a line she had never crossed. But a stronger, more desperate in

sage wa

lly free. Can' t wait to start our life tog

ba

blow. She stumbled back, her hand flying to her m

s. The urgency. The late-night phone calls. It all clicked into place, forming a

sn' t a fresh start for them. It was a disposal plan for her. Get her ou

of clothes was a small, velvet box. She opened it. Inside was a simple silver locket he had given her

, to run out and confront him in front of the movers. But

purse and her keys. She walked back into the living room, where David was now di

was. She was packing herself up, labeling t

t made her feel sick. To sit at a table with his parents, his sister, and pretend t

see it through, to underst

ith hushed tones and heavy silverware. David' s mother, Eleanor, gree

be exhausted with the

next to David, a picture of quiet elegance. She ga

est architectural award, about his family' s upcoming vacation, about Lisa' s groundbreakin

his success. And to new beginnings." She looked pointe

escape the suffocating atmosphere. She walked down the hall to

vate alcove, she heard voi

" Lisa asked, her v

papers without a second thought. By the time the divorce

the ho

The assets are protected. We' re

ere was a pause. "I fe

. The clean break. The baby. It was all real. The life she thought she had was an illusion