She read it again, mouthing the words in the silence, letting each one land deeper than the last. He knew. He knew what they didn’t. What they refused to see. And now she did too. The next morning, when Bryan made another snide comment about “living the barn life,” Claire didn’t flinch. She didn’t rise to it. She just looked at him and smiled.
Not smug. Not bitter. Peaceful. She didn’t need to prove anything anymore. Instead, she went back to the barn and got to work—not cleaning this time, but rebuilding. She opened the windows. Swept the dust into neat piles.