Someone behind a curtain definitely looked, then pretended not to.
Derek resisted only once—not violently, but emotionally.
“Emily!” he called out again, twisting slightly as they guided him to the car. “Don’t do this! We can fix it! I love you!”
That word—love—used like a tool instead of a truth.
I stood on the porch.
My hands weren’t shaking anymore.
“I know what love is now,” I said quietly.
It wasn’t loud.
But he heard it.
And for the first time, he had no answer.