Terms of Departure

POV: Valerie Thorne.

Across the candlelit table at East Bay, Dr. Nolan Bryce studied my face in prolonged, penetrating silence. The ambient jazz music playing softly in the background seemed to fade into a dull, distant hum. I met his unwavering gaze with a stoic calm of my own, refusing to retreat from the heavy tension settling over the pristine tablecloth. He was searching for a crack in my co