Humiliation is a strange thing. It burns hot at first, then turns cold — hardening into something new. Standing there, surrounded by polished strangers, I realized I had spent my entire life waiting for this man to see me. To approve. To love.
And I finally understood: I didn’t need him to.
In the trunk of my car was something I hadn’t planned to use — my U.S. Navy dress uniform. I had brought it out of habit, a quiet token of the life I’d built on my own. That uniform represented every hour of training, every mission, every decision that demanded courage and sacrifice.
It wasn’t just clothing. It was proof.
The Return
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