Life, for once, seemed to be arranging itself neatly in Anna's favor. The pieces that once felt scattered and impossible were now slowly clicking into place. She had a new job, stable hours, fair pay, actual benefits, and even if some of her coworkers clearly didn't like her confidence, she didn't mind. Let them talk. Let them give her side–eyes. Let them gossip about her clothes, or her handwriting, or her laugh. It didn't matter.
She had stopped molding herself to make others comfortable.
And now, a long time, life felt like it was smiling at her.
She had her own small apartment, decorated with soft colors and secondhand furniture she had chosen carefully. She had friends, well, one real friend. Raya. And she had a boyfriend who, at least at first, seemed like everything she thought she deserved.
But lately… Joseph was her problem.
