“But now…” I swallow hard, the words weighing heavier than I expected. “Now I know something happened. Something she’s still hiding. Something big.”
David watches me steadily, that same calm, unwavering look—the one that’s seen me through every storm I’ve dragged myself into.
“Something big like what?” Flor asks, her voice quiet but curious, eyes fixed on mine.
“She told me about her mother,” I add, my voice softer now. “At the restaurant. Said she passed away from cancer. I didn’t know it had been that bad.”
David’s face softens, something tightening in his eyes.
“She adored her mother,” he says quietly. “That kind of loss can wreck a person.”
Flor’s face softens too, her eyes lingering on mine, understanding flickering there.
“But it’s not just grief,” I say, the words thick and hard to swallow. “I feel it in my gut. It’s deeper. It’s heavier.”
I hesitate, then say the thing that’s been haunting me most.
“She told me… shedidcall me.”
Both of them go still. They glance at each other, something silent passing between them.
“And that’s what’s been tearing you apart, isn’t it?” David asks, voice steady but firm.
“Yeah,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “Because I never got that call.”
I stare down at the floor, the weight of it pressing into my chest like stone.
David leans forward slightly, his tone quieter but sharper now.
“What do you want, Dorian?”
I let out a breath, heavy and defeated.
“I want the truth,” I say, staring into my glass like it might hold the answers. Then I lift my gaze, meeting theirs. “And I want her back. My Della.”
I pause, the weight of those words sinking in.
“Maybe I don’t have the right to ask for that——not after what I did. But she is the woman I loved more than I even knew I could. I lived five years without air, without real sleep. Without the hope of ever seeing her again. And now that she is here, back in my life… I’m not letting her go.”
Flor’s voice is soft, but there’s a quiet strength beneath it. Steel under velvet.
“If you really want the truth… let her be the one to tell it.”
David’s voice is calm but cuts to the bone, steady and unyielding.
“And if you think cornering her is going to win her back… then you’ve already forgotten the kind of woman she was.”
He leans back, his words slow and deliberate.
“Don’t force this, Dorian. You can’t drag her out of wherever she’s been. You can’t pull someone out of the dark. They have to find their way out on their own. All you can do… is stay close enough to catch them if they fall.”
Flor nods, her voice gentle but resolute, eyes locked on mine.
“A woman who's been hurt doesn't need a rescuer, Dorian. She needs a safe harbor.”
She leans in slightly, her gaze unwavering.
“If you want her—really want her—then show her. Not through pressure or power. But by being there, patient and caring. Ready to carry whatever she’s been holding alone all this time. No matter how heavy it gets.”
