“You’re beautiful,” he said quietly. No hesitation, no forced cheer. Just steady conviction. It almost undid her. Still, there were moments when exhaustion bled through — in him, not her. He’d fall asleep sitting upright, phone buzzing with messages he ignored. He missed meals.
He answered calls in the hallway that stretched on for hours. Sometimes, when she’d wake from the fog of medication, she’d find him staring at her like he didn’t know how to help anymore. It wasn’t cruelty, she told herself — just helplessness.