“He gave


    Thea a house. A house that was supposed to be mine.” I exined it as briefly as possible.


    Jasmine fell silent for a moment, then ground her teeth and muttered, “You…”


    She didn’t ask anything more, but I knew what she meant. “I’m not giving him another chance.” I


    said.


    “You can’t keep forgiving someone like that. If you do, he’ll just keep doing it again!” Jasmine and I saw eye to eye when it came to love.


    “I know.”


    “Alright, well, we’ll take things one step at a time. But for now, pick up the phone and hear him out. After that,e to me,” Jasmine added, pausing for a second. “I’m swapping shifts with someone.”


    I was about to say no, but she’d already ended the video call.


    Alvin’s calls kepting in, persistent as ever. I sighed and answered. “Hello…”


    “Zoe, what the hell are you doing? What’s going on?” His voice was so loud and frantic it almost hurt my ears.


    I held the phone a bit farther away and let him rant. When he finally calmed down, I put the phone back to my ear. “Alvin, yesterday, in front of your parents, I gave you my final chance. That was it— for both of us.”


    “Stop with the useless talk. Where are you? Why didn’t you show up today?” His voice was seething with anger.


    It seemed like neither Davy nor Thea had told him I went to that house today, and I wasn’t going to mention it either. Instead, I just answered his question. “I went to Osraka Church. I spent some time with Hubert, listening to some sermons.”


    There was silence on the other end. He knew his lies had been exposed. “Zoe, let me exin…” he


    started.


    “There’s nothing left to exin, and frankly, I’ve heard enough exnations from you. I’m sick of them. I’m tired. I’m done,” I said, pausing for a moment. “Alvin, this ends now.”


    “Zoe!”


    “Oh, and by the way, I finished up all my work. Everything’s been sent to the right people’s inboxes, and I sent you a copy too…”


    Before I could finish, he shouted, “Zoe, what are you nning to do?”


    “I’m… taking annual leave.”


    “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” Alvin’s voice was icy as heughed bitterly.


    I didn’t answer, but I could hear him tugging at his tie. “Fine. Looks like you’ve really taken a liking to throwing tantrums. Go ahead, keep at it.”


    He mmed the phone down.


    I smiled faintly, looking up at the sky. A bird flew by, so free and untethered. I felt like I could be that free too-free from Alvin, free from the Dolton family, and free to live my own life, just as


    Zoe.


    The Dolton family had given me a life offort, but it felt like being a bird kept in a cage. I had longed for so many things, but fear and responsibility had kept me from reaching them.


    Starting today, I could fly away from that cage and into a world I had always dreamed of.


    I drove to meet Jasmine. She had canceled her shift just to check on me, and I knew she’d feel better once she saw I was okay.


    She knew better than anyone how much I loved Alvin. Even though I was calm on the outside, I knew she was probably worried I’d do something drastic.


    “You’re fast. Did you run every red light on the way here?” Jasmine teased when she saw me. “Yeah, but you’re worth it,” I said with a smile, making her fall silent before pulling me into a hug. I closed my eyes, resting my head on her shoulder. “I’m not that fragile, really…”


    And I wasn’t. My heart wasn’t aching. I wasn’t sad. I wasn’t heavy with emotion. It felt almost like walking away from a business deal that didn’t go through—not like the end of a rtionship.


    Jasmine took off her white coat, grabbed her bag, and got into the car with me. But just then, my phone rang. It was the Dolton family calling.


    Jasmine saw the caller ID and immediately said, “If you don’t want to answer, don’t.”


    I thought about it for a couple of seconds. “I’ll have to face this sooner orter.”


    Sighing, I pressed the answer button.