Breakthrough
I had warned her that my carefully maintained control was fraying, that the restraint I prided myself on was slipping. Yet what lingered with me now was not my own weakness, but the fear I had seen radiating from her, rolling off in waves I could not ignore. Was it me she feared, or the truth she guarded so fiercely behind that polished mask? That mask was cracking. Each time I refused to look away, each time I stepped forward instead of retreating, I saw it falter, splintering piece by piece until the woman behind it threatened to be revealed. She was the woman who had carried burdens far too heavy for far too long, the woman who had endured silence and solitude while protecting everyone else. She was also the woman who only wanted her pup safe, sheltered from harm, and free to be ha
- Writer
