Too Intense? Watch Her Soar

as the victim of a brutal hazing campaign at our prestigious law firm, I'd arrange

th his friends. The hazing was a lie. He just couldn't

. "Kassandra is different. She need

g me for, joined in, calling me "intimidating

He hadn't just betrayed me; he had used my fierc

heartbreak hardening into cold resolve. He thought he was getting a cl

pte

sea

the hum of polite conversation, the low thrum of the jazz band-it all faded into a dull roar. All I coul

victim, a target of their cruel games. I had bought every word. Every late-night phone call filled with his feigned terror, every strained smile, every fabricated bruise. My heart ached for him, for the injustice he faced. I believed him when he s

man, had kept my family's influence hidden, preferring to earn my place. But for Aaron, I would have moved mountains. I had sacrificed my own career track, turning down coveted positions, preparing to follow him to a small, obscure firm in ano

Completely made up. I just couldn't hack it here. Too much pressure, too many expectations. A

done, everything I was willing to give up for him? My body went c

us, I needed a way out. A clean break from... everything. Kassandra understands. Sh

ed a little too intimidated by the firm's grandeur, a little too dependent on Aaron's "guidance." I had seen her, of course. Seen how she

han any physical wound. Why? Why would he hate me so mu

Mark, said, his voice a little slurred, but laced with genuine

nestly, it was getting a bit much. Always so... competent. So capable. It's e

with a surprising edge. "She' s not someone you

e. "Too much. Too much loyalty, too much ambition, too much... everything. K

loyalty annoying. My competence, a burden. My love, suffocating. He wanted a woman who would make him feel big, not one who stood a

words were tearing me apart. "Like I was her whole world. It was creepy, honestly. I just

lt glued to the polished marble floor. My body was stiff, frozen in place, a silent witness to my own demolition.

riend suggested, his tone a little more sober. "

t intensity? No thanks. She'd make a scene.

atic? I had always been the calm, collected one. The problem-solver. The strateg

a bit fragile. She's been through a lot. I just want to protect her. Telli

r running from my competence; it was about protecting her feelings. It was about ma

ly justified as a mentorship. It wasn't just months. It had started much earlier. The hazing story was merely the grand finale of a long-running, insidious con. A slow, agonizing bleed. The scholar

aze of my shock. She must have joined them. "Always so sure of herself. So... intimidatin

ng into my heart. They were all in on it. They were all judgi

ling, some battles aren't worth fighting. True strength lies not in winning

them the satisfaction of a scene. I wouldn't let them see the wreckage they had made of me.

to their laughter, to the shattering pieces of my life. I walked away, not towards them, but away from the wreckage. Every

alized the cracked glass in my hand had finally shattered. I ignored the sting as the shards

be my ending. This w