Sid's voice cracked, and he looked down, his hands trembling slightly.
"I regret not being there for her when it happened. I could've protected her. I could've stopped it. But I didn't."
He swallowed hard, his throat tightening as he tried to hold himself together.
"When I saw you—when I saved you—it felt like that pain, that guilt… it faded, even just for a moment. It was like I was given another chance to do something right. To protect someone again."
His eyes lifted to hers, raw and earnest.
"That's why I risked everything, Evelise. Because I couldn't lose another person who reminded me what it felt like to care."
Evelise caught Sid's eyes, and for a moment, everything stopped. His gaze wasn't teasing or cocky like usual. It was soft, raw, and trembling — filled with a kind of pain that reached straight through her defenses. Something in her chest fluttered painfully, like her heart couldn't decide whether to melt or break.
