Chapter 96
You Built It by Yourself
Dafa drove with a focused calm. His eyes scanned the mirrors and the gravel road winding back toward the University.
"You're quiet," he said after several miles, his voice low, but not pressing.
"I'm… letting it settle," I replied. The truth was simple. I wasn't planning or strategizing. I was allowing the peace of my grandmother's kitchen, the steady warmth of the jar in my bag, and the certainty in her final words to sink into my bones.
The fear was gone.
In its place was something deeper. Ready. Still.
He gave a small, understanding nod. "It's good ground to stand on."
When the university's stone gates came into view, my stomach didn't clench. My heart beat steady and sure. The manicured lawns and Gothic arches didn't loom over me anymore; they looked like a stage.
