"But emotionally..." she continues, her voice more fragile. "it shattered me. It made me doubt myself, my worth, who I am. Yesterday, when I saw him... everything came back. The insecurity. The fear. The wound. And then, you appeared. Like a shield."
I leaned a little towards her, my voice filled with conviction:
"I don't want you to feel like that again, Susy. Not while I'm around."
She holds my gaze for a moment that feels eternal. Then she lowers her eyes, her fingers playing with the napkin, as if unsure what to do with everything she had just confessed.
"And you, Dominic?" she whispers. "Why did you help me?"
The question catches me by surprise. Not because I didn't have an answer, but because I never thought she would need to hear it out loud.
"Because... from the first time I
