The office had quieted in a way that felt almost surreal after the storm of emotions that had just passed. I was still pressed against Soren’s chest, my tears soaked into his crisp shirt, my body trembling from the release of hours of pent-up fear, doubt, and longing.

He held me there, and in that silence, I realized how safe I felt. Safe in a way that I hadn’t felt in years—since Julian’s betrayal, since the nights filled with confusion and heartbreak, since the moments where I ...