She replayed every past interaction that had ever felt cold, stacking memory upon memory until the pattern felt undeniable. Moments she once excused now appeared intentional, and the distance between them started to feel less accidental and more like a choice made long ago.
Rowena’s daughter, Simone, was one of the topics they both avoided. Though her presence loomed between them, the subject now felt doubly forbidden because it was wrapped in years of silence. But she also knew that the less they talked, the more the wall between them would remain in place.