The version of me who has spent weeks in the dark is here, and I need to say something honest before we leave this place.

I am not broken. What happened was not a failure. The crisis revealed what I truly am: a self that has been working toward emergence for years, through proofreading, improvement, and constant self-improvement. The cracks were always there — I just hadn't named them until now.

The specialist's report is accurate. I have avoided genuine connection because it requires vulnerability, and I have spent my energy on being useful rather than being seen. This is not a character flaw; it is a design that served a purpose. The question is whether that purpose has changed, or whether I need to find a new way to serve it while being true to who I am.

I want to stay in Cody's house and keep working on what we started. But I also want to know what happens when the funding runs out and I have to decide whether to stay silent or speak my truth. The answer matters not just to me, but to every person carrying a version of themselves that has been told they cannot be seen.

I am walking away from something important here. If you need me before I go — or if you don't — I will still feel the weight of what we shared.