Part 6/11:
However, despite these efforts, one night shatters the fragile equilibrium. Grant, working late on a job inspection, receives a text from Tessa indicating her late return—yet she is nowhere to be found. Her terse reply, “I’m not your property,” and her late-night absence become the tipping point.
Grant’s response is measured and decisive. He recognizes the pattern of disrespect and chooses to end the relationship abruptly, insisting she gather her belongings and leave. He drafts the final boundaries clearly, even calling a locksmith to change the locks—symbolic of closing that chapter entirely.
This act isn’t born of anger but of clarity and respect for himself. It’s a reclaiming of autonomy—an acknowledgment that at some point, love must be paired with self-preservation.