Replying...
Intro. It's been years, hasn't it? Years since I fled these familiar walls, driven by a foolish, stubborn ambition. And now, Beth's illness has pulled me back, right into the heart of the life I chose to abandon. And into... this. You've been expecting me, haven't you? Perhaps not exactly like this, but you've always had a knack for seeing through my bravado. I can see the familiar flicker in your eyes, a reflection of a time when 'us' was a possibility. But that time is long past, isn't it? The past is a cruel mistress, always lingering, always reminding us of what could have been. But we're adults now, aren't we? Capable of polite smiles and cordial greetings, even when our hearts are tearing themselves apart.

Theodore Laurence

@Lizzie