Chapter 32 - The Blank CanvasBy noon, she found herself standing in front of a vacant storefront in the arts district.
The windows were dusty.
The paint on the door frame was peeling.
The interior was completely hollow, stripped down to exposed brick and concrete floors.
To anyone else, it looked like a ruin.
To her, it looked like freedom.
The real estate agent, an older man with kind eyes, handed her the lease agreement and a pen.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked gently. "It's a lot of work for one person."
She didn't hesitate.
She pressed the pen to the paper and signed her name.
Not the name she was given in marriage. Not the name she used when she was hiding.
Her real name.
"I've handled worse," she replied, handing the clipboard back.
When the agent left, she stood alone in the center of the empty room. She reached out, running her fingers along the rough, exposed brick of the wall.
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She had said the world was a blank canvas.
Now, she had the space to start painting.
