OLIVIA
I was strong until he came.
All that time, I kept my chin high. I yelled at the officers, snapped back, and told them I didn’t do anything. My voice didn’t even shake. I demanded to be released, sat there hugging my own arms and convinced myself I was fine.
But the second I saw Dante, it all came undone and the walls I’d stacked so carefully cracked like glass.
“Are you okay?”
Just three words, and suddenly my chest burned, my throat closed, and every bit of fight I had drained out of me.
Before I knew it, I was burying my face in his chest. The tears broke free, ugly and uncontrollable, spilling faster than I could stop them. My body shook like it wasn’t mine anymore. I wanted to shove it down, to hold on to that strength I’d been clinging to but in his arms, I just couldn’t
