Grace hugged me.
“You don’t have to be okay today.”
Those words finally broke through the numbness I’d been carrying.
For hours, I had been trying to remain calm.
I had listened to financial reports.
Spoken with lawyers.
Faced the man who betrayed me.
Answered questions.
Held myself together in front of strangers.
But with my two closest friends beside me, I no longer had to pretend.
“I was so scared,” I whispered.
Lily wiped her tears.
“We know.”
“When Mom called, I thought she was overreacting. I almost opened that door.”
Grace tightened her arms around me.
“But you didn’t.”
I shook my head.
“I can’t stop thinking about what might have happened.”
My mother approached and gently touched my shoulder.
“You don’t have to face those thoughts alone.”
I looked at her.
Then at my father.
He had spent the entire day protecting me without once making me feel ashamed for having trusted the wrong person.
