(Michelle POV)
My phone vibrated just as I finished folding my scarf for the third time like it owed me money.
New Group Created:
"WINTER BABY QUEENS 👑 (NO BOYS ALLOWED)"
Kate: Alright, ladies. Emergency bonding mission.
Kate: Shopping + Secret Santa prep.
Kate: I refuse to let Vince monopolise the emotional narrative of this friend group.
Jasmine: Support.
Lara: I'm in.
Michelle: Do I need to prepare emotionally or financially?
Kate: Both.
Jasmine: Dress warm.
Kate: And please arrive without unresolved tension, thank you.
I stared at Lara's "I'm in" for a long second.
It still made my chest behave in a way that felt… careful.
Not fragile anymore.
Just cautious.
Still, the fact that she was there — not avoiding, not ghosting, not retreating — felt like something precious.
Michelle, are we actually functioning like friends again? I thought privately.
Somewhere in the universe, my emotional therapist from my first life was probably gasping in relief.
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