But silence had become a cage.
“My side hurts,” I said. “And my back. Sometimes when I breathe.”
Mara’s expression changed only slightly, but I saw it. Concern had weight. “We need to get you checked at the hospital.”
Ryan appeared in the doorway. “Hospital? That’s unnecessary.”
One officer placed a hand near his shoulder. “Sir, stay where you are.”
“I’m her husband.”
Dad’s eyes lifted. “Then start acting like someone worthy of that word.”
The sentence landed quietly, but Ryan flinched as if it had struck the part of him that still cared what others thought.
Mara helped me sit. The room tilted. My father’s hand immediately steadied my shoulder. I hated how weak I felt. I hated that he could feel me shaking.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He looked stunned. “For what?”
“For lying.”
His mouth tightened, not in anger, but pain. “You survived the only way you knew how.”
