The fifteen-word text.

The stolen necklace around Rachel’s throat. The forged IP addresses. The police knocking on my door. And then I thought of the sheer linen curtains catching the breeze in my bedroom.

I thought of the absolute safety of my home. “I have evicted you from my mind, Ethan,” I said softly. “That is the absolute zenith of the grace I can offer you.”

His eyes welled with tears, his face crumpling. I didn’t stay to witness the fallout. I turned on my heel and walked out the double glass doors into the blindingly bright afternoon.

“You are officially a free woman,” Lauren said as we reached my car. I looked up at the vast, cloudless Ohio sky. “No,” I corrected, a genuine smile finally breaking across my face.

“I’m a safe woman.” That summer was a revelation. I learned that the most mundane activities become wildly intoxicating when you aren’t constantly guarding your flanks.