“We need time to think about this,” Philip finally said.

“Take all the time you need,” I replied, gathering the documents back into the folder.

“But understand that these terms are not negotiable.

You’ve lost the right to negotiate.”

As they retreated to digest this new reality, I stayed at the kitchen table, sipping my cooling tea.

The house felt different now—lighter somehow, as if a long-festering wound had finally been lanced.