Miss J's expression flickered, that same shadow of pain from before. "Ah. That one is... different."
"Different how?" Bella asked softly.
Miss J took a slow breath. "Have you ever loved someone who couldn't love you back? Not because they didn't want to, but because something inside them was broken?"
Bella thought of Leo in those early days. So closed off.
"I think so," she whispered.
"When you love someone like that, you see the storm in their eyes. The pain they carry." Miss J's voice dropped. "You want to save them, but you can't. You can only love them and hope it's enough."
She looked down at her hands.
"It wasn't enough. Not then." A pause. "So I painted those eyes. All the love, all the storm, all the things I couldn't say."
The lounge fell quiet.
Bella felt tears prick at her eyes. Without thinking, she reached out and took Miss J's hand again.
"I'm sure they felt it," Bella said softly. "Your love. Even if they couldn't show it. I'm sure they felt it."
