“And part of that history,” she continued, “is you deciding I wasn’t worth knowing anymore.”
—
That hit harder than he expected.
—
“That’s not fair,” he said quickly.
—
“No,” she agreed.
—
“It wasn’t.”
—
Silence.
—
Richard glanced toward the crowd, then back at her.
—
“You’ve changed,” he said.
—
Emily smiled faintly.
—
“No,” she said.
“I stopped shrinking.”
—
He didn’t know how to respond to that.
—
For the first time—
He had no script.
—
No advantage.
—
Just truth.
—
—
Across the garden, Noah and Nathan laughed as Daniel showed them something on his phone.
—
Richard watched them.
—
“They like him,” he said quietly.
—
Emily followed his gaze.
—
“Yes,” she said.
—
“He listens to them.”
—
Another silence.
—
“He treats them like they matter.”
—
Richard swallowed.
—
Because he understood what she wasn’t saying.
