This isn’t goodbye forever, but it is a farewell to a chapter that was becoming toxic for us all. I hope this time apart will help us heal and rediscover each other anew.

With love beyond words,
Mom”

As Lisa finished reading, she sank into a chair, the weight of her actions and the realization of what she had lost pressing down on her. The house, once filled with my presence, now felt hollow.

Travis came in behind her and saw the document. There was a flicker of understanding in his eyes; the kind that comes when youthful entitlement is confronted by the consequences of one’s actions.