Chapter 12 — The Long Breath

When the heavy door clicked shut, Adele let out a breath she felt as though she’d been holding for years.

There was no rush of victory in it.

There was only a deep, aching exhaustion, and underneath the exhaustion, a grief she hadn’t expected and couldn’t quite put down.

Winning still hurt when the people you were winning against were the two who were supposed to have protected you first.

She had spent the whole pregnancy telling herself she’d made her peace with who her parents were.