Case Two - Annie and the Quiet Anger
Case Two examines friction that hides behind visible success. Annie is advancing in her career, respected and rewarded, with no obvious crisis to justify reassessment. On the surface, she is doing exactly what capable, driven people are supposed to do. Yet the tension does not show up at work. It surfaces at home — in irritation, thinning patience, and a growing emotional distance that she initially explains as structural pressure. Nothing is collapsing, but something is tightening.