Her knees gave out.The rain didn't stop, but her body did.
Amelia collapsed into Ethan's arms like a rag doll, soaked, trembling, eyes wide with devastation.He caught her just in time.
"Amelia—hey, hey, stay with me."
But her lips were pale.And her skin burned—despite the cold.
The truth had broken her in a way lies never could.It wasn't the betrayal that crushed her—It was the sacrifice.The years lost.The love buried alive.
Her heart wasn't just aching—It was mourning.
Because now she knew:He never stopped loving her.And she never stopped waiting for him to prove it.
But knowing didn't heal the years of silence.It only reopened the wound.
He carried her through the rain like a sinner carrying a cross,his arms shaking, not from weight—but from penance.
Every drop that hit her forehead felt like the universe weeping with her.
He laid her gently on the couch, covered her in blankets,but her body burned through the fabric.
A fever, cruel and sudden.Like her past had caught fire inside her.
She tossed in half-conscious mutters.Names.Dates.Moments.
"Don't leave me.""Not again.""It wasn't my fault…"
He sat beside her, gripping her hand with trembling fingers.Watched the woman he broke burn in front of him—and there was nothing he could dobut stay.
He pressed his forehead to her hand.
"You can hate me tomorrow," he whispered."But please, just wake up tonight."
Her lashes fluttered.
One word slipped from her lips, barely audible—
"…home."
And just like that,he broke.