Chapter 13 - THE FIRST DATE SHE CHOSE
Alexander asked me to dinner eighteen months after the night I hid beneath his desk.
By then, my divorce was finalized.
The financial proceedings against Derek were ongoing.
I had my own apartment.
My own income.
My own life.
And Alexander had spent months making difficult changes in his business affairs.
When he asked, I smiled.
"Is this a date?"
He looked almost nervous.
"Only if you want it to be."
I laughed.
"Then yes."
We went to a small restaurant near the river.
No private office.
No armed men standing beside the table.
Just dinner.
Conversation.
And two people learning who they were outside the roles the world had assigned them.
Alexander asked about my business plans.
I told him everything.
He listened.
Didn't interrupt.
Didn't offer to take over.
When I finished, he smiled.
"You've thought this through."
I laughed.
"I have."
He reached across the table.
"May I hold your hand?"
I looked at him.
Then placed my hand in his.
For a moment, I remembered Derek.
The way he used to grab my wrist beneath restaurant tables.
The way fear had lived inside my body.
Now I was sitting across from another man.
And he was waiting for permission.
I smiled.
"Yes."
May you like
Alexander's expression softened.
And for the first time, holding someone's hand felt like freedom.
