I watched the elevator doors close, a hollow sense of triumph squeezing my chest. Promotion. Corner office. Recognition. The kind everyone dreams of—but me? I didn’t feel it. None of it mattered. The applause, the clinking glasses at the celebration in the lobby, the handshakes, the congratulations—it all felt like a layer of plastic wrapped over my chest, suffocating and unreal.

“Congratulations, Sue. You earned it.”

I smiled politely. I nodded. But the words never reached my chest. Earned it? Yes, I’d worked, burned through deadlines, polished every report, curated every presentation. But at what cost? Every email I’d sent, every deal I’d handled, every smile I faked—it had been...