“Now you’ll never marry my son!” my mother-in-law laughed, setting my wedding dress on fire. I wiped my tears, smiled coldly, and said, “Enjoy destroying that dress, because the wedding was never the real trap.” Her face went completely pale when I made one quick phone call…

and leaving behind the unbreakable steel of who you actually are.

The rest is just maintenance. It is pouring coffee, honoring boundaries, funding grants, surviving the holidays, and choosing, every single morning, to stay in the room.

That is the actual work. That is the coup d’état.

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