Not long in the grand scheme of things.
But long enough to become someone else.
Cassian had never wanted me to leave the city. He said people in our world should stay close to the ones they loved. He said distance created weakness. Back then, I had mistaken those words for devotion.
Now I understood them for what they were.
He wanted me close only when it was convenient.
In that quiet office, I saw it all at once.
I had refused postings for him.
Turned down advancement for him.
Rearranged my schedule for him.
Gone home early to have dinner waiting for him, to be available when he wanted me, to make my life fit neatly around his.
I had bent everything around Cassian Ashbourne.
And in the end, none of it had been enough to make him choose me.
The thought brought no tears.
Only a deep, terrifying stillness.
“I’ll go,” I said.
The consigliere studied me for a moment, then pushed the papers toward me.
“Everything’s ready,” he said. “You only need to sign.”
I picked up the pen and wrote my name without hesitation.
“You leave on the ninth of next month.”
I counted the days in silence.
Less than twenty.
That was enough.