The entire estate smelled of jasmine, white wine, and disaster.

I know almost nothing about my parents. I know enough.

And, strangely, the lesson in independence they tried to impose on me proved useful. It made me strong not through their cruelty, as they intended, but through what I chose to build despite it. The difference is significant.

Because a daughter can leave home with a suitcase and a silent rage. But when she returns with the truth in hand, she no longer returns as a piece of junk.

She returns as the only one who can name the ruins.