RUBY'S POV
“I…I’m sorry,” I choked out, wiping at my cheeks, but the tears kept coming.
Dominic leaned closer, his voice lower now, almost gentle. “Stop apologizing.”
I shook my head, trying to explain. “I just…I’ve been holding it all in, and I don’t know how to…”
“Ruby.” His voice cut through my panic. “You don’t have to explain anything.”
And somehow, with just those words, I felt safer than I had in weeks.
Dominic’s arms wrapped tighter around me as I continued to cry, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I let myself feel safe. Safe in a way I hadn’t been since my father was alive. The world had forced me to grow up too fast after he was gone. Eleven years of being strong, being tough, being everything except vulnerable. But now, in Dominic’s arms, I felt like a lit
