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The Fortress at the Graveside

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Ezoic

That sentence changed everything.

Therapy taught me words for things I had never named. It taught me that strength and softness were not opposites. That discipline wasn’t emotional absence. That loyalty and resilience were virtues, not flaws.

I rebuilt myself deliberately.

Ezoic

I ran until my lungs burned. I lifted until my muscles screamed. I read. I learned. I stopped apologizing for existing the way I was.

When I was promoted, I bought a lipstick so dark it felt like defiance.

And when I met Marcus, I finally understood what respect looked like.

Ezoic

He listened.

He admired competence.

He didn’t need me to shrink.

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