Chapter 18 - New BeginningsSix months after their silent encounter in Central Park, Ethan packed his few remaining belongings into the trunk of a used sedan.
He had left New York behind. The memories, the ghosts of Midtown, and the toxic ambition that had consumed his youth no longer held power over him. He was moving back to Boston—back to the city where he and Clare had first started, back to where life was honest and simple.
He had accepted a mid-level project management position at a mid-sized, ethical green-energy firm—starting over from the middle, exactly where he should have stayed, learning the value of hard work without shortcuts.
Before pulling out of his apartment complex parking lot in Queens, he checked his dashboard. Resting beside his keys was a small, worn envelope containing his final divorce papers—the ones Clare had sent him months ago.
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He didn't feel bitter anymore. For the first time in his life, he felt free.
He turned the ignition, pulled out onto the highway, and drove north toward Boston, leaving the glittering towers of Manhattan behind forever.
