His chest tightened, not just with anger but with something sharper — betrayal. He thought of the late nights helping her through college applications, the endless overtime shifts he had worked after Marianne’s cancer treatments drained their savings. Every sacrifice, every promise — all dismissed in a single, casual sentence.

George’s hand trembled as he set the phone down. His reflection in the microwave door stared back — lined, tired, but not broken. He wasn’t ready to be discarded like an old chair.
So he called someone. Not a lawyer. Not a friend. A realtor.

Within twenty minutes, the voice on the other end chirped cheerfully, “Yes, Mr. Müller, I can come by this afternoon. Are you thinking of listing soon?”
He almost smiled. “Immediately,” he said.