Chapter 10 - THE NIGHT SHE STOPPED RUNNING
Mira had been living under temporary security arrangements for months.
She missed her apartment.
Her books.
Her favorite coffee shop.
The ordinary freedom of walking down a street without looking over her shoulder.
One evening, she told Dante:
“I can't keep living like this.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
“I want my life back.”
“You deserve it.”
She looked at him.
“Then help me get it.”
Dante hesitated.
“What do you need?”
“Not more guards.”
He smiled faintly.
“Then what?”
“A lawyer who represents me independently. A plan for returning to work. And the ability to make decisions without someone treating me like fragile glass.”
Dante nodded.
“I can help you find resources.”
Mira smiled.
“Good.”
She paused.
“And Dante?”
“Yes?”
“Stop calling me brave.”
He frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I was terrified.”
Dante looked at her.
“Those things aren't opposites.”
Mira stared.
Then laughed softly.
“Fine.”
He smiled.
“Fine.”
Over the following weeks, Mira began rebuilding her life.
She worked with an independent attorney.
She met with trauma counselors.
She returned to academic research.
And she accepted a temporary consulting position with a university language center.
For the first time in years, someone was paying her to use the knowledge she'd spent so long developing.
May you like
She no longer needed to be invisible.
And slowly, she stopped wanting to be.
