My jaw tightens.
“He didn’t touch you?” I ask quietly.
“No,” she says quickly. “No, they didn’t hurt me.”
A pause.
“They just kept saying you’d come.”
That lands.
Different.
“He wanted me there,” I say.
Tessa pulls back just enough to look at me.
Her eyes are still wide, still shaken—but clearer now.
“Why?” she asks.
Because he thought you would break me.
Because he thought I would lose control.
Because he doesn’t understand me.
I don’t say any of that.
Instead—
“He made a mistake,” I tell her.
Simple.
Certain.
That’s all she needs.
Her gaze softens just slightly.
Trust.
Always trust.
“You look different,” she says quietly.
I tilt my head.
“How?”
“Stronger.”
That surprises me.
More than it should.
I don’t answer right away.
