The conversation with my financial advisor and lawyer was supposed to be routine, but my mind was elsewhere. Their words washed over me like a distant tide, barely registering.
My thoughts kept drifting back to the street, to her, to the kids.
Their faces lingered in my mind, a tangible reminder of the responsibilities I had long ignored.
“Are you with us?” my lawyer asked, his voice cutting through my reverie.
“Yes,” I replied, though it felt like a half-truth.
The acquisition we discussed held promise, but it was hard to muster enthusiasm.
Not when the world outside my office window seemed to be crumbling.
Could I really afford to ignore what I’d seen?
Every fiber of my being told me to act, yet fear held me back.
Fear of failure, of rejection, of losing the fragile balance I clung to.
