Page 81 of The Yoga Teacher

Different. Uncomplicated.

She moved harder, faster, chasing the pull building inside her—not intimacy, not connection, just release.

With Daniel, every touch had been layered. Every moment tangled in memory. History. Hurt.

This wasn’t like that.

This wasn’t deep.

It wasn’t sacred.

And that was the point.

When she let him guide her onto her back, it wasn’t surrender. It was choice. She shifted with him, letting the weight of his body settle over hers like heat, like gravity. Familiar, but not the same.

Her legs curled around him, drawing him closer, not out of love, but want.

Want was simpler.

The sound of skin on skin filled the room. Her body slick, responsive, needing. She wasn’t thinking. Wasn’t aching. Just moving toward that bright, sharp edge.

And when it came—sudden, visceral, full—she let it take her. No guilt. No apology.

For the first time in a long time, she had taken something purely for herself.

And as her breath slowed and her heartbeat settled, she realized—

For those few minutes, she hadn’t thought of Daniel at all.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Daniel

DANIEL SAT IN the sleek, glass-walled office. Everything around him felt too polished—chrome pens, leather binders.

He felt like a stain in the room.

Rick—gray at the temples, expensive suit, practiced calm—flipped through the paperwork with methodical ease, his pen scratching faintly. “Alright,” he said, finally. “You want to pay off the remaining balance on your home and transfer full ownership to your soon-to-be ex-wife?”

Daniel flinched at the phrasing.

Ex-wife.

The word should’ve felt clinical by now. Neutral. But it was a blade between the ribs every time he heard it.

“Yes,” he said, barely above a whisper.

Rick nodded, flipping to another page. “There will be some early withdrawal fees—”

“I don’t care.” Daniel’s voice was sharp, final. “I don’t care about the penalties. I don’t care if it’s the worst financial decision I ever make. Just tell me how to do it.”

Rick studied him for a beat. “You understand this is—”

“Yes,” Daniel snapped. “I understand exactly what this is.”

It’s not generosity.

It’s not closure.

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