There's a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from waiting too long. Waiting for the moment they finally see it. Waiting for the phone call where they say, "I'm sorry. I see you. I was wrong." Waiting for the version of them that finally understands what they put you through. You've rehearsed the conversation in your head a thousand times. You know exactly what you'd say. You know exactly what you need to hear. And yet, it never comes. The Apology You Deserved You deserv

You send a message to your manager. Within seconds, they reply: "Noted." One word. No punctuation. No emoji. Nothing. And something in your chest just drops. You know, logically, it probably means nothing. But logic isn't driving right now. Your brain may run through every possible thing you could have done wrong, every interaction from the past week, every sign you might have missed. By the time your next meeting starts, you're barely holding it together, and you have no ide