But then he exhaled.
And something in his posture changed. He leaned on his desk.
"You're worried about things getting too permanent. About losing yourself in all of this," he said. "I get that. More than you know. Believe me."
"Do you?" I said. It wasn't really a question I was expecting an answer to.
He smiled. There was nothing warm about it. I could see the hurt behind it.
“Yes, Faye. I do," he said. "Listen, I didn’t plan this,” he added.
His voice wasn’t loud.
But it still carried.
“I wasn’t looking for anything,” he continued. “And when you came into my life… I didn’t make room for you. It was all just about the alliance for me.”
I stayed still, my arms folded loosely, my attention fixed completely on him now.
Because this—this wasn’t how he usually spoke. There was sudden
