ALESSA'S POV

I couldn’t stop crying.

Even when I wanted to.

Even when Michael’s mother leaned in and whispered tightly, “Alessa, please… stop crying. Everyone is watching.”

I wanted to stop. I truly did. But the tears just wouldn’t listen.

They had lived in me for far too long, trapped behind forced smiles and quiet nods.

I had swallowed too many over the years, buried them under survival, clenched through pain, held my breath through every storm.

Now… I was breaking. ...