The bell’s chime cracked something in me that night, a clean, brutal snap that no apology could unring. Around that glittering table, Heather’s laughter crowned her queen of a kingdom she’d never paid for, while I sat reduced to a shadow in my own bloodline. Outside, the winter air bit hard enough to make my eyes water, but the cold helped. By the time I reached my car, the decision had settled in my chest like iron. At home, the will waited in its thick, cream folder, my grandmother’s handwriting looping across the first page, her words pressing forward as if they could reach through paper and spine to steady my shoul… Continues…
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