🖤
It didn't happen dramatically, no raised voices, no last-minute arguments, no goodbye that tried to hold her back. Cassy left quietly just like she said she would.
The office didn't stop, people still moved, phones still rang, work still continued but something was missing and everyone felt it.
"Miss Williams—" Adrian stopped himself. A faint smile. "…Cassy."
She turned. "Yes?"
A pause. "You're really going through with it."
Cassy nodded. "Yes." No hesitation.
Adrian exhaled softly. "Well… the place won't be the same."
That made her smile slightly. "…That's not necessarily a bad thing."
Adrian chuckled. "Depends who you ask." A quiet moment passed. "Take care of yourself," he added.
Cassy nodded. "I will." A pause. "You too." And that was it, no long speech, no heavy goodbye just… understanding.
She walked back to her desk, the same one she had sat at every day, the same one where everything started, she looked at it for a moment not with regret, bot with sadness just… acknowledgment.
Then she picked up her things not much just what mattered and left the rest behind because some things weren't meant to be taken with her, only remembered.
She didn't go to his office, didn't knock, didn't look for him because if she did, leaving would be harder and this wasn't about making it harder, it was about doing what she needed even if it hurt.
Inside his office, Caleb knew before anyone told him, before the door closed, before the elevator reached the ground floor, he knew because the silence changed again and this time it didn't feel temporary.
"She's gone." Adrian's voice confirmed it.
Caleb didn't respond, didn't move, didn't even look away from the window.
A pause. "Do you want me to—"
"No." Immediate, final because there was nothing to do, nothing to fix, nothing to control.
This wasn't a problem, this was a consequence and for the first time he had to sit with it fully.
"She said she'd be back," Adrian added carefully.
Caleb nodded once. "I know."
A pause but knowing didn't make it easier because "back" wasn't a guarantee, it was a possibility and that was something he couldn't control.
Outside, Cassy stepped into the open air. The city moved around her unaware, unchanged but she felt different, lighter but also uncertain.
She checked her phone, no new messages and somehow that made it easier because right now she didn't need anything pulling her back, not yet.
She took a deep breath and walked forward, bot away, not running just… forward because this wasn't the end, it wasn't a goodbye, it was a pause.
A space a moment to figure out who she was without everything else around her and maybe when she came back, she'd be stronger, clearer, more certain or maybe she wouldn't come back at all.
And that was something neither of them could decide right now, only time could.