undertow

The corporate retreat had been Elena's idea—a weekend of teambuilding at a coastal resort. Now she stood waist-deep in the infinity pool, watching Julian hold court at the bar. His palm rested possessively on the small of her assistant's back.

"He's been running through assistants like water," Sarah had warned during lunch. "You're just the latest who hasn't figured it out yet."

Elena had dismissed it then. Now, nursing her third gin and tonic, she felt the truth of it settling in her stomach like cold lead. Julian's upward trajectory in the company had always been his priority. Elena had been convenient—a spouse who hosted dinner parties, kept the house running, never asked too many questions about late nights at the office.

"You're drowning, El," Julian had told her last month, when she'd tried to discuss how lonely she'd become. "You need to find something that makes you happy."

The irony wasn't lost on her now.

A gray cat appeared on the pool deck, watching her with yellow eyes. Elena had seen it earlier—stray, skittish, surviving on scraps from resort guests. She'd slipped it some tuna from her lunch plate when Julian wasn't looking.

"You and me both," she murmured.

The cat approached cautiously, and Elena lifted her wet hand. It pressed its forehead against her palm, a sudden and devastating trust. Something in her chest cracked open.

Without deciding to, Elena found herself swimming toward the pool's edge. She hauled herself out, water streaming from her clothes, and walked toward the resort lobby where the rental car counter stayed open late. The cat followed at a distance, as if sensing something fundamental had shifted.

"I need to extend my reservation," she told the clerk, her voice steadier than she felt. "Just me. And I'll be needing a pet-friendly room."