My sister told parents I dropped out of medical school—a lie that got me cut off for 5 years. They didn’t attend my residency graduation or my wedding.

mirrored the city lights, bright.

I used to think revenge meant making them feel the abandonment they gave me. I was wrong.

Revenge was becoming someone they could no longer erase.

I turned the photograph toward the home we had built, switched off the light, and walked with Daniel into our future.