I stood in the kitchen, stirring soup, while Jack walked in, barely acknowledging me. “There’s an event next week, you’re coming,” he said, not waiting for a response. I didn’t argue—he’d long stopped listening.

Dinner was just as cold. Lucas, glued to his phone, ignored me when I asked him to help set the table. Mia barely glanced up before announcing she was going to a friend’s after dinner. Jack waved it off. He was always the easy parent, giving them what they wanted, while I was the one who said no.

At a party later, I slipped onto the balcony for air. There, I ran into Daniel—my first love. The connection was instant, like no time had passed. We talked, and for the first time in years, I felt alive.

Daniel offered me a card, “If you need someone to talk to…” he said. I felt a flicker of hope, but I shook it off.

Back at the party, I tried to talk to Jack, but he brushed me off. Claire was by his side again. I felt invisible. The next morning, Jack wasn’t home, and a text from him was cold, a hollow excuse.

Mia and Lucas sided with him. “You’ve let yourself go,” Lucas said, and I realized I had lost them both.

Later, I called Daniel. He listened without judgment, and when we walked outside, I saw Jack kissing Claire.

Daniel offered me an escape—time to think, away from it all. It was tempting. “Just think about it,” he said. I didn’t have the answers, but for once, I considered what *I* needed.