~Nantam's POV~
"Please," he wept into my shoulder, his hands clutching at my shirt. "Just please forgive me. I'm so sorry, Nan. I'll never, ever let anything like that happen again. I'll do anything to make this right. I can give you all the time you need to get over it, if you can..."
"And if I can't?" I cut in, my voice sounding hollow and sharp in the quiet room.
Evans froze. He slowly raised his head from my shoulder, his eyes bloodshot and swimming with tears as he looked at me.
"What if I can't get over it?" I asked again, my heart aching. "What happens then?"
"Then I will spend every day doing everything in my power to help you," Evans answered desperately. He reached for my hands, his grip trembling. "No one is leaving, Nan. We're staying right here to fix this. I'm not forcing you, I promise—I just... I love you so much, and I'm not ready to let one terrible mistake break us."
