He arrived early, heart hammering, collar damp with sweat. The seminar hall buzzed with soft conversation, the kind of optimism he hadn’t felt in years. Then she walked onto the stage—composed, radiant, and very much alive. Time fractured. Every word she spoke about resilience sounded like an echo meant for him.
He barely heard the applause. She carried herself differently. Her posture was straight and voice firm, without any trace of the timid woman he remembered. The audience leaned in when she smiled. Richard sat frozen, unable to breathe. The woman he destroyed had become someone unbreakable.