Chapter 7 - The Ghost in the Machine
Months later, Chase surfaced again. He was working construction, just as he had when they first met. He was covered in dust, his hands calloused.
He saw Adeline walking through the memorial site, looking over the blueprints with the lead foreman. She looked different. She was strong, confident, and possessed a quiet, radiant power.
He walked toward her, but stopped when he saw the look on her face. It wasn't hatred. It was indifference.
May you like
He realized then that he had never been the protagonist of her story. He had just been a brief, painful chapter.
He didn't approach. He turned and walked back to the concrete mixer. He had lost the world he thought he wanted, and he was finally, truly beginning to understand the value of honest labor.
