"Then why didn't you ask?" The question came out more raw than Alex intended. "Why didn't you demand to know what was happening to me?"
Victoria was quiet for a moment, her dark eyes holding his with an intensity that made his chest tighten.
"Because I trusted you," she said finally.
"I trusted that whatever was happening to you, whatever power you were developing, it didn't change who you were fundamentally. The man I'd come to care about."
She reached out, her hand finding his where it rested on the bed between them.
"I could have interrogated you. Could have pressed for answers." Her fingers threaded through his gently.
"But I chose to trust instead. To let you come to me when you were ready. To respect whatever privacy you needed while you navigated... whatever was happening."
Alex felt something crack open in his chest. Guilt, yes. But also gratitude. And something deeper that he didn't have words for.
