I stared at the screen for a few seconds after she hung up.

you overreacted,” he added.

I smiled faintly.

“That’s not my responsibility anymore.”

For the first time, I meant it without bitterness.

We never returned to what we were.

But I learned something permanent:

Love without boundaries becomes permission.

Forgiveness without consequence becomes repetition.

They thought they’d found free money when they used my continue reading …