Huge numbers.
Half-veiled threats.
Dates.
Names she didn’t know.
— “Why… He didn’t tell me anything…?”
His voice was only a breath.
“Because he was ashamed.”
A long silence.
Then the woman added softly:
“And because he wanted to protect you in his own way.”
— “By throwing us out on the street?!”
“Yes.”
The answer was harsh. But honest.
— “The farther you were from him… the safer you were.”
Tears welled up, in spite of herself.
Not just pain.
But confusion.
Of everything she didn’t understand yet.
“And you… in all this… Who are you?”
The woman looked her straight in the eye.
