Ava let out a weak laugh, the kind that held no joy, and stared at Adam like she was waiting for him to take it back.
“Say it again,” she whispered.
Adam didn’t flinch. He told her everything; how he broke, how Dawn held him together, how he tried to survive the empty years without her.
“Helped you?” Ava’s voice cracked. “You cheated on me.”
“No,” he said, steady but exhausted. “If you had woken up, if Dawn wasn’t there I wouldn’t even be alive to talk to you right now. You wouldn’t be looking at me.”
Ava tried to stand, rage shaking through her, but her body failed her. She collapsed to the floor. Adam rushed forward—instinct but she shoved him so hard her hands trembled.
“Don’t touch me.”
Her eyes jumped to Dawn, sharp and wet.
“And you. What do you want? Money? Fame? Name your p
