Waiting For Her

He watched her plan her escape.
He wanted to save her.
But he knew she had to save herself.

Marcus Reed doesn't believe in fate, just timing. And his timing has always been off. Three years divorced, forty, and trying to remember what happiness feels like, he spends his nights scrolling through LinkedIn instead of dating apps. Networking, he tells himself. Pretending he's fine.

Then, one night, he sees her name. Sarah Mitchell.

Once the most brilliant analyst at Hartwell Investments, Sarah vanished from the corporate world twelve years ago. Now, she's listed as a stay-at-home parent. The woman who used to predict markets can't even remember who she used to be.

Their late-night messages start as small talk. Harmless. Professional. But under every line, something unspoken lingers. A quiet recognition of loneliness, loss, and longing. He knows what it's like to disappear inside a marriage. He knows what it's like to wake up one day and realize you're a stranger to yourself.

Marcus wants to reach through the screen to save her from the life that's erased her. But he can't. He knows she has to find her own way out.

So he waits. Watches. Listens. Becomes the voice reminding her she still exists.

From the world of The Exit Strategy, this is Marcus's story. An emotional slow-burn was told from the other side of the door.
A story about restraint, redemption, and what it means to love someone enough to let them save themselves.