Tortured by love

had passed and the silence that had stretched between them. She had almost convinced herself that she was better off without him, that she had healed

ands, she answer

ntative, as if unsure how to

was trying to find the right words. Finally, James spo

it was a prayer, a word he had been

a time when the world had felt simpler which she thought she had buried. Back when every

ed, her voice barel

red history. She could feel the weight of it pressing in on her, the year

out before she could stop it, her heart a

stay, Lily. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought you deser

nesty. She remembered the way he used to hold her, his touch always reassuring, alwa

ispered, her voice thick with emotion. "I

I'm so sorry, Lily. For everything. I didn't realize how much I was hurti

ent streams. The vulnerability of this moment was more than she could bear. All the walls she

y breath. "I never wanted to let

, tried to heal, but in the quiet moments, in the spaces between the noise of her life, she had always thought of him. Always wondered wh

ination in his voice clear. I need to see you, Lily. We

her throat. James, I don

hing," he replied softly.

d in more heartbreak. But the deeper, more desperate part of her-the part that had never

red, her voice s

swirling in her mind. She had spent the last few hours pacing, wondering what to say,

ound herself staring at the man

me

e was more rugged now, the lines of age and regret softening the features she had once memorized. His expression was vulne

rely above a whisper. I've miss

over her, a pull so magnetic, so unde

h everything that had passed between them. But then, without thinking, Lily s

mbrace felt like coming home, like finding the one place she had always belonged. She pressed

lips brushing the top of her he

rching his for the truth. I've carried this pain for so l

rs that had gathered on her cheeks. Then let me make it right

ng hers, hesitant, as if asking for permission. She didn't need

become urgent, desperate. The years of longing, of missed opportunities, came rushing to the surface. Her ha

o rediscover the parts of each other that had been hidden, locked away. In that moment, Lily knew that n

ever truly gone-it just needed ti