Chapter 6 - THE RETURNING TIDE
One rainy afternoon, the bell to the studio chimed. Eleanor looked up from a drafting table, expecting a courier. Instead, she saw a man in a rumpled suit standing in the doorway. It was Grant. He looked older, tired, the polished sheen of his executive armor long since worn away.
“What are you doing here, Grant?” Eleanor asked, her hand resting on the pencil she held.
“I’m broke,” he said, his voice quiet. “And I’m… I’m sober. For the first time in ten years.”
Eleanor didn't move. She didn't want him there. She wanted him gone. But she saw the flicker of genuine regret in his eyes.
“I didn't come to get back together,” he said. “I came to apologize. Really apologize. I ruined everything. I ruined us. And I destroyed the one good thing I had in my life.”
“You did,” Eleanor said. “And I’m not going to tell you it’s okay.”
“I know. I just… I needed you to know I’m sorry.”
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He turned to leave. He stopped at the door, looking back one last time. “You look happy, Eleanor. I never could have made you this happy.”
“No,” she agreed. “You couldn't.”
