“Yes.”
“And you don't hate me?”
“I did.”
Her mouth trembled.
“Sometimes I still do.”
That landed harder than forgiveness.
She moved closer.
“But then I watched Arya cancel your therapy. I watched Dominic talk around you like you were furniture. I watched you learn what it feels like to be the person nobody wants to hear from because your pain is inconvenient.”
I flinched.
Tessa's voice softened.
“And then you changed.”
“Because I got caught?”
“No.”
“Because I got shot?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Because when nobody was afraid of you anymore, you finally had to decide who you were without the fear.”
I stared into the fire.
Outside, snow fell silently over the terrace.
“Does Mara know what happened to me?”
“Yes.”
“What does she think?”
Tessa gave a sad laugh.
“She said paralysis doesn't erase responsibility.”
“She's right.”
“She also said suffering isn't justice.”
That broke something open in me.
