I ARRIVED AT MY BEACH HOUSE EXPECTING PEACE-YILUX

it mattered that much,” he admitted, and there it was again, not cruelty, not malice, just a quiet failure to see something important.

“It matters to me,” I said, and I held his gaze when I said it, because this time I needed him to hear it, not later, not softened, but right now.

He nodded slowly, like someone learning something too late but still trying continue reading …