SFC Regional Office

The city blurred past in streaks of color and light. Morning commuters packed the platforms at each stop, their faces buried in their phones or staring into space. All of them trapped in their own small cages, pretending they had choices.

Eric's reflection stared back at him from the window—a man who had once believed he could have it all. Love and respect. Success and integrity. A wife who would stand by him when the world tried to tear him down.

Now he wasn't sure he had any of those things.

The taxi began to slow as it approached the city center. Eric closed his eyes and tried to imagine a future where this morning had gone differently. Where he'd told Alina the truth. Where she'd forgiven him. Where they'd found a way to fight together instead of tearing each other apart.

But every scenario he imagined ended the same way—with him on his knees, begging forgiveness from people who would never respect him anyway.