Operative Maya: Five Years Cover

My life with Ethan was a predictable loop: his phone calls about Olivia, his "friend" who always needed him, my forgotten anniversaries, and our shared savings mysteriously funneling into her latest drama. It was exhausting, yet I' d become numb to it, a quiet resignation my constant companion. Then, a stark notification flashed on my sleek, Agency-issued device: "Covenant Term Conclusion: Operative Maya. Extraction Protocol initiated. T-minus seven days." Five years of this life, defined by his neglect and her endless demands, were about to end. Just like that. A profound, almost liberating indifference washed over me. Later, true to form, Ethan called, cancelling our anniversary dinner again because Olivia was having a crisis. He expected my usual quiet frustration, but all I felt was nothing. Every chipped-away piece of me over the years had finally left me utterly empty. He couldn't comprehend my calm "Okay," only that it wasn't the reaction he was used to. He' d barely noticed how deeply I' d funded his dreams, how I' d been the only one holding onto "our" life. What did it all even mean, this existence where I was merely an afterthought, an ATM? But that notification wasn't just an end; it was a beginning. A countdown to an 'extraction protocol' only I understood. The taste of freedom was intoxicating, and I knew, with utter certainty, that the real assignment was just beginning. And this time, it was for me.