Jake***
I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Not this time.
I knew Belle had been through hell before we met, but this? This was different. I wasn’t ready for how deep it went. The way she trembles in my arms, like her past is trying to pull her away from me. Every breath she takes is a reminder of how little I can do to help. I hold her tighter, but it’s like holding onto glass—she’s slipping through my fingers. I feel helpless.
When she jerks awake, gasping for air, my heart drops. It’s like watching someone drown, knowing you can’t save them. My instinct is to pull her back, to steady her, but she pulls away. The panic in her eyes cuts through me. Every time she does that, it feels like a knife twisting deeper into my gut. This isn’t the Belle I know—the strong, fearless woman who face
