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Chapter Ten

Author: Ogaedu
last update Last Updated: 2025-12-29 19:24:20

The waiting was harder than the hearing.

Grace learned that quickly.

After the testimony, life did not pause. People still went to work. Meetings still happened. Traffic still moved. Only her inner world had changed.

She was no longer bracing.

She was listening.

At work, the review process became a background presence. Conversations included careful pauses. Decisions came with documentation. People asked more questions than before.

Grace noticed.

Change rarely announced itself.

One afternoon, her supervisor stopped by her desk.

“You’re being considered for a leadership role,” she said.

Grace looked up calmly. “Based on what?”

“Based on how you handled pressure,” the woman replied. “And how you didn’t.”

Grace nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

That evening, Nathaniel came home with a letter in his hand.

“It’s official,” he said. “My resignation was accepted.”

Grace did not react immediately.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “More than I expected.”

She nodded. “Loss feels different when it’s chosen.”

He smiled faintly. “That’s true.”

They cooked dinner together that night.

No rush.

No pretense.

Later, as they cleaned up, Nathaniel spoke again.

“I’ve been asked to consult independently,” he said. “Short-term. No influence.”

“And what do you think?” Grace asked.

“I think it’s a chance to do things properly,” he replied.

Grace met his gaze. “Then do it.”

The review outcome arrived quietly.

No press conference.

No spectacle.

Just an official notice.

Grace read it once.

The findings confirmed procedural failures. Responsibility was distributed. Records were corrected. Her professional standing was restored.

Not dramatically.

Accurately.

She sat at the table, the letter resting beneath her hand.

Nathaniel watched her carefully.

“How does it feel?” he asked.

She thought for a moment. “Like something heavy was finally set down.”

He nodded. “You carried it alone for too long.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “But not anymore.”

The following days brought decisions.

Grace accepted the leadership role.

She moved into an office with glass walls and open visibility. She did not ask for privacy. She had nothing to hide.

Nathaniel adjusted to a different rhythm.

Less structure.

More reflection.

One evening, he asked her, “Do you still see me as part of what hurt you?”

Grace considered the question carefully.

“I see you as someone who didn’t question power when you had it,” she said. “And someone who is questioning it now.”

He accepted that.

“I don’t need forgiveness,” he said. “I need honesty.”

“That’s what you’re getting,” she replied.

That night, Grace stood alone on the balcony again.

The city felt familiar now.

Not distant.

She realized something important.

She had been waiting for permission to move forward.

She no longer needed it.

The contract marriage still existed.

Unchanged on paper.

But the dynamic had shifted.

One morning, Nathaniel asked, “Are you staying because of the agreement?”

Grace answered honestly. “No.”

“Then why?”

“Because I choose to,” she said.

He did not respond immediately.

When he did, his voice was quiet. “So do I.”

They did not define what that meant.

They did not need to.

Weeks passed.

The world adjusted.

Grace’s name appeared again in professional spaces, this time without doubt.

Nathaniel rebuilt carefully.

They shared meals.

They shared silence.

They shared understanding.

One evening, Grace received a message from the legal center.

A final closure notice.

She read it and closed her laptop.

“It’s finished,” she said.

Nathaniel looked at her. “Are you relieved?”

“Yes,” she replied. “And ready.”

“For what?”

“For what comes after survival.”

He nodded.

That night, Grace dreamed.

She walked freely through open doors.

No labels.

No locks.

She woke smiling softly.

In the morning, she packed away the old folders.

She did not destroy them.

She archived them.

They belonged to history now.

At breakfast, Nathaniel watched her.

“You look lighter,” he said.

“I am,” she replied.

The future was no longer something she feared.

It was something she was willing to enter.

And this time, she would do so on her own terms.

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