“He’s Not Moving Away From Me,” She Said. I Packed My Bags and Left Them Both Behind

with a significant raise.”

“It did,” I said, not elaborating.

He shifted his weight, uncomfortable with my calm. “Mom said you bought a house. Here, I guess?”

“I did.”

“That must have been expensive. If you needed help, you could have asked. I would have—”

“I didn’t need help, Ethan.”

He blinked, recalibrating. This wasn’t going the way he’d planned. “Okay.continue reading …