“Send them in,” I said.
I turned back to the window and caught my reflection. Still me, but sharper. Stronger. I touched the pearl earrings at my ears. They weren’t new. They were my grandmother’s—the only thing I’d taken from that house.
A week after the dinner, my mother mailed them with a note. She would have wanted you to have these.
I didn’t keep them for sentiment. I kept them as a reminder. They say you can’t choose your family, but you can choose to fire them.
Julian walked in, rolling blueprints across my desk. He glanced up and grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Ready to build something new?”
I smiled back. “Always.”
