I take a shaky breath. "Part of me is glad they're suffering. They hurt me, and now they're hurting. That's... that's fair, right? Eye for an eye?"
"Yes."
"But another part of me..." I press my hand to my stomach, trying to settle the churning there. "I don't want to be someone who's built on revenge. I don't want to look back at my life and see a trail of people you destroyed because of me."
"Lily—"
"Please." I hold up a hand, stopping him. "Just... please. Don't hurt anyone else in my name."
He's very still. "They deserved—"
"Maybe they did. Maybe everyone who's ever hurt me deserves to suffer." My voice cracks. "But that's not who I want to be. I want a fresh start. Not revenge. Not destruction. Just... a life. A real one."
The silence stretches between us. I can hear my own heartbeat, rapid and unsteady.
"A fresh start," he repeats slowly.
"Yes."
"With me?"
The question hangs in the air. Heavy. Important.
"Yes." The word comes out barely a whisper. "With you."
His expression shifts. Something raw flickers across his face—hope, maybe, or disbelief—before he locks it down.
"You want to stay."
"I want to stay."
"Why?"
And that's when it all comes pouring out.
"Because you're the first person who's ever made me feel safe. Because you look at me like I matter. Because when you're around, I don't feel alone anymore." I'm crying now, tears streaming down my face, words tumbling out faster than I can think them. "Because I'm so confused all the time—about you, about this, about what I'm feeling—and I don't understand any of it but I know I don't want to leave."
He closes the distance between us in three steps.
"What don't you understand?" His voice is low, rough. His hand comes up to cup my face, thumb brushing away tears. "Tell me."
"I don't..." I swallow hard. "When you look at me, something happens. In my body. I feel... things."
"What things?"
My face is burning. I can't say this. Can't admit to the wetness between my legs, the throbbing that keeps me awake at night, the way my whole body tightens when he's close.
But he's waiting. Patient. His thumb still stroking my cheek.
"I get... warm," I manage. "And my heart races. And lower, I..." I squeeze my eyes shut. "I've never felt this before. With anyone. I don't know what it means."
"Lily. Look at me."
I force my eyes open. His face is so close, those ice-blue eyes burning with something that makes my breath catch.
"It means you want me."
The words hit me like a physical blow. Want. Is that what this is?
