Aaron moved the salad aside to make room.
Behind her, through the window, the guest-house light still glowed.
This time, I didn’t turn to look.
For months, everyone had been telling me what I could afford to give away.
My space.
My income.
My plans.
My peace.
Even my right to say no without presenting a financial defense.
In the end, losing Colin hurt.
Canceling the wedding hurt.
Losing $2,400 hurt.
But none of those things hurt enough to make me regret finally understanding what the argument had really been about.
It was never only about Vanessa.
And it was never only about rent.
It was about whether the person I planned to marry believed my “no” carried the same weight as his “yes.”
By the time he finally understood that it did, I understood something too.
I did not need to marry someone just because he eventually learned to respect a boundary he should never have crossed in the first place.
