Had he ever really loved her, or had she been a placeholder—filling a role until he decided he wanted something else? Hannah knew how Daniel’s father approached marriage. She’d thought Daniel was different.
Her throat tightened, but still, no tears came. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or if it meant she was breaking apart so completely that even grief had abandoned her.
She stood, moving slowly toward the bathroom.
The mirror was unforgiving.
Her skin was pale, her eyes shadowed and swollen.
She had spent too long unraveling, drowning, breaking over whathehad done.
Shewasn’t the one who should be ashamed.
------------------
Hannah stood in front of the converted community center, gripping her coffee cup.
Her personal life had fallen apart. Her marriage was done. Everything she thought was solid had crumbled beneath her. But this place—this work—was still steady.
It didn’t ask questions. It didn’t pick sides.
It was hers.
A space where she knew who she was. Where things made sense.
She took a breath, straightened her spine, and stepped inside.
The scent of freshly brewed coffee and warm paper filled the air, mingling with the quiet hum of conversation. The office was all open space, natural light, inviting rather than corporate. A place for people to feel seen, valued.
Exactly what she had always wanted it to be.
“Hannah! You’re here!”
She barely had time to process before Morgan, the program director, swept into view, clipboard in one hand, phone in the other. The woman was a force of nature, always in motion, running on caffeine and pure determination.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better. I was about to text. Tell me you saw the numbers from the last donor meeting—”
“I saw,” Hannah said, forcing a smile.
Morgan exhaled dramatically. “Finally, some rich people spending their money on something useful.” Then she paused, studying Hannah more closely. “Are you okay?”
Hannah hesitated.
She could tell Morgan the truth. That she wasnotokay. That her world had imploded, that she had been shredded open and left to bleed in the dark.
But that wasn’t what today was for.
“I’m fine,” she said instead. “Just a long night.”
Morgan didn’t look convinced, but she nodded. “Well, lucky for you, the universe has provided the perfect distraction. You’re meeting with the new volunteers in twenty minutes.”
Right. The mentorship program.
Hannah had built it from the ground up—connecting aging adults with younger community members, helping them form relationships, share knowledge, and remind people that getting older didn’t mean fading into the background.
It was everything she believed in.
Aging wasn’t something to fear. It wasn’t something to outrun. It was just…life.