CHAPTER 11

**

I walked back to my office building, but instead of entering my office, I entered my car and drove home.

A myriad of thoughts was flooding my mind as I sped down the busy Downtown LA streets, but more importantly, I felt more liberated than I had felt before. Those words I said right in Sebastian's face marked the first time I actively stood up for myself without regretting it after. But not only did I not regret it, I couldn't stop. I was smiling during this drive, like a cage I was stuck in had finally been opened. The threat of my mother and Sebastian's vengeance by pursuing Claire somehow managed to spark an opposite reaction in me.

So now that I am home, I have left my phone in the living room on vibrate. The only sound comes from Pedro's collar as he runs around my feet